Malaysia PM calls for unity

Malaysia's PM Najib Razak has refused to resign after mass protests, and has called for national unity.

Speaking in a public address to mark Malaysia's National Day yesterday, Najib said it was clear the rest of Malaysia backed the government.

"We will never allow anyone from within or from outside, [to] simply walk in and steal, ruin or destroy all that we have built so far," the state news agency Bernama quoted him as saying.

"Let us all remember, if we are not united, lose our solidarity and cohesion, all problems will not be resolved, and everything we have laboriously built will be destroyed just like that."

He said protests which "disrupt public order and only inconvenience the people" did not reflect maturity and were "not the proper channel to voice opinions in a democratic country".

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets at the weekend, urging Najib to step down over allegations he took hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds.

Najib said such protests were "not the proper channel to voice opinions in a democratic country". He has denied pocketing $700m (£455m) of public money.

The payments, first revealed by the Wall Street Journal, came from the 1MDB state investment fund, which Najib set up on coming into office in 2009.Najib has removed several leading officials who had criticised his handling of the scandal.Malaysia's anti-corruption agency has effectively cleared him, saying the money was from foreign donors.