KUALA LUMPUR - Thousands of protesters calling for fair elections converged on Kuala Lumpur's centre on Saturday for a major demonstration that will test the Malaysian government's reformist credentials and may affect the timing of national polls.

Police have shut down much of the city centre and closed off the historic Merdeka (Independence) Square with barriers and barbed wire, enforcing a court order that the protesters should not enter the symbolically important site.

Click on thumbnail to view (Photos: AFP, Reuters)