here they come…

i mean the protests and demos.  how could our PM be so stupid as to invoke god’s name and hope there will be no protests.  "god willing, i hope malaysians will not demonstrate over this" he said.  well, god’s willing otherwise, i see. in malaysiakini you can read news report of protests here and there, all over!  

on 5 june, there were protests in KL, ipoh, kuching. (KL and ipoh by DAP, kuching by PKR). lim kit siang had blog on this, with pictures.

yesterday, 3 in klang valley yesterday (as reported in  malaysiakini here):

1)  At 8.30 this morning, Teratai assemblyperson Jenice Lee led about 50 locals, including PAS and PKR activists, in a protest in front of the Taman Uda Jaya markets against the fuel hike.

2)  At the Kampung Baru Mosque, Kuala Lumpur some 200 people listened to a short speech condemning the government for increasing fuel prices by People’s Welfare Alliance (Ikrar) chairperson Mustapa Mansor.

3)  In Petaling Jaya, some 50 protesters gathered in front of the Jumhuriyah Mosque, Taman Dato Harun for 15 minutes to voice opposition to the fuel hike.

then in kuching, there were two demos, while in penang there was one at komtar.  in penang, there were about 50 people, mostly from PKR. (kuching too, PKR members). well, of course the famous ‘beardy’ bk ong was there too (the same one who made a comment at this post of mine).

here are some of the colourful slogans at the protests which i spy in malaysiakini. if anyone have more to add, please do so. it would be interesting to comply as many as possible, especially those funny but hard-hitting ones.

rakyat menderita, pemimpin bersuka ria
changing lifestyles is NOT tightening our belts and loosening your belts
change PR govt. to save us from fuel and price hike
saya miskin – umno-bn tak peduli

then of course, everybody’s bracing for the mass anti rally which the organiser hope to rally thousands of people. read about it here, CnP from malaysiakini:

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Mass anti fuel hike rally on 12 July
5 June 2008

Thousands of people would be mobilised for a mass protest against the shocking increase in fuel prices at the iconic KLCC Twin Towers on July 12.

Organisers Coalition Against Inflation (Protes) hopes to gather 100,000 people to call on the government to reduce fuel prices to its original levels before the hike today.

"We believe that with such a drastic hike in fuel prices, we will get the support of the masses.

"This is not similar to the Bersih rally. It’s going to be bigger. The impact would be bigger," Protes coordinator Dr Hatta Ramli told a press conference today.

Hatta explained that the KLCC Twin Towers was selected as the rally point because it was the headquarters of Malaysia’s oil company Petronas.

He argued that Malaysia was an oil producing country and record profits from Petronas should be used to relieve the public from being burdened by the fuel hike.

“We have five weeks to mobilise the crowd and the government has five weeks to react to the people’s demands (to revert fuel prices to their original levels),” he said.

Roadshows throughout nation

For the time being, Protes will be organising road shows throughout the country to state the coalition’s position on the need to revert fuel prices.

The first stop is Seremban on June 14. Activities to be held include ceramah and distribution of leaflets.

The leaflets will include facts and figures regarding fuel prices and the impact on society.

“We urge Pakatan Rakyat component parties to mobilise their members for this event. We also urge the five states held by Pakatan to take action on the matter,” said Hatta.

Protes, a coalition that had held numerous anti-inflation rallies before, is also encouraging other groups to protest against the fuel hike and would provide assistance if necessary.

“If they want to protest in front of a mosque every Friday, we would encourage and provide whatever support we can,” he added.

Bersih style

He said Protes was not acting based on political motives but was a manifestation of the people’s desperation following the sharp hike in fuel prices.

“If the government rejects our recommendations, then we will continue to take mass action until our voices are heard,” he warned.

According to a Protes insider, the coalition hopes to gather a crowd from across Malaysia in ways similar to the mass mobilisation for the Bersih rally in November last year.

“It’s better to have one mass rally to stress our collective protest against the fuel hike than many smaller ones,” said the source.

Yesterday Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that the pump price for petrol would increase by 78 sen – from RM1.92 per litre to RM2.70.

The price of diesel increased by a whopping 63.3 percent – from RM1.58 per litre to RM2.58.

The price hikes were among government measures to drastically cut the spiralling bill for oil subsidies, which is expected to amount to RM56 billion this year.

After making the announcement, Abdullah also hoped that Malaysians would not demonstrate over the price hike.

Meanwhile, the stock market sank 2.4 percent as the central bank said the price hike could suppress economic growth and drive up inflation as high as 5.0 percent this year, from levels of 3.0 percent in April.

The ringgit currency sank, and government bonds plunged on expectations Bank Negara will raise interest rates to curb inflation, despite it stating there was no need yet for an increase.