Mass anti-fuel hike rally on July 12

Andrew Ong | Jun 5, 08 2:38pm (From Malaysikini)

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.

MCPX

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.