About 45,000 people joined a massive opposition rally yesterday in Kuala Lumpur in a show of force ahead of key general elections due in the next few months.

The rally by opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's three-party alliance focused on demanding further transparency in elections that must be held by June. The polls are seen as a major test for prime minister Najib Razak's ruling coalition after its dismal performance in 2008 elections, amid public discontent over problems such as corruption and racial discrimination.