| Thousands Attend Rally Protesting Fuel Price Hike |
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PETALING JAYA, July 6 (Bernama) -- Supporters of opposition parties and extremist organisations Sunday defied orders by the authorities and joined a rally organised by the Coalition Against the Fuel Price Hike (Protes) at the Kelana Jaya Stadium here.
Many of the thousands of demonstrators, including supporters of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), wore red T-shirts and shouted anti-government slogans as they gathered to listen to speeches from their leaders from 10 am to midnight.
The presence of the police and other authorities around the stadium helped to ensure that the rally participants, some of whom were seen to be aggressive, did not resort to any mischief.
Nevertheless, the rally, carrying the theme "Protest of One Million People", forced the residents in the vicinity of the stadium to spend their Sunday "locked" in their homes for fear of their safety due to the presence of a large number of unidentified people in the area.
It is learnt that many of the rally participants who came from outside the Klang Valley had begun to gather at the stadium from as early as 5 am. The rally did not have a police permit.
Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said the police would continue to monitor the rally, particularly the speeches of the opposition party leaders.
"We will monitor their speeches to detect elements of sedition and, if they resort to such a thing, we will conduct an investigation under the Sedition Act," he said when met at the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters, here.
He also said that the police had received not less than 10 telephone calls from residents in the vicinity of the stadium complaining about the rally.
Some of the residents had complained that there were rally participants who had disregarded the law and parked their vehicles haphazardly in the neighbouring housing estate, obstructing the entry and exit routes.
Khalid had earlier accompanied the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, on a visit to the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
Days earlier, the police had advised the organisers of the rally to hold it at a more appropriate venue, such as the Shah Alam Stadium. Originally, the organisers had wanted to hold it at Padang Timur in Petaling Jaya but relocated it to the Kelana Jaya stadium.
Among those who addressed the rally Sunday were the coordinator of the rally and PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli; Tenaganita executive director Irene Fernandez; Batu Member of Parliament (MP) from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Tian Chua; Hindraf leader S. Jayathas; Selangor State Executive Councillor Ronnie Liu and Parti Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa.
Opposition party leaders expected to speak later this evening include PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub; PAS secretary-general Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar; PKR vice-president Mohamed Azmin Ali and PAS vice-president Mohamed Sabu.
Other leaders were expected to address the rally at 8.30 pm. They include the menteris besar of Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin (Perak); Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat (Kelantan) and Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (Selangor), and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng (Penang), as well as DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang; PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa and PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
The rally was organised by the opposition parties to garner the sympathy of the people to protest against the government's decision to raise fuel prices last month.
On June 5, the government announced the restructure of the fuel subsidy to reduce the country's deficit in anticipation of a world economic recession.
Simultaneously, it announced an increase in the prices of petrol and diesel, up by 78 sen and RM1 per litre to RM2.70 for petrol and RM2.58 for diesel.
Despite the increase, the prices of fuel in the country are among the lowest in the world as the government continues to provide a subsidy, which is expected to reach RM27 billion this year.
In the Asean region, the price of petrol in Malaysia, for example, is the lowest compared to that in Singapore (RM4.33 per litre), Thailand (RM3.91), Indonesia (RM3.46) and the Philippines (RM3.42).
In a move to minimise the impact of the fuel price hike on the people, the government announced, among other things, the payment of a cash rebate of RM625 to owners of private vehicles of 2,000 cc and below and RM150 to owners of motorcycles of 250 cc and below.
Meanwhile, when approached at the rally, Dr Hatta said it was hoped that the rally could garner the support of one million people by midnight tonight to pressure the government to lower the fuel prices.
He also said that the organisers would consider other ways to pressure the government to lower fuel prices if the rally did not achieve the objective.
When asked about the complaints of residents near the stadium, Dr Hatta refuted claims that it caused them any inconvenience and said no traffic congestion was reported.
He said the Kelana Jaya Stadium of 50,000 capacity was selected as the venue as it had various facilities such as surau and toilets which enabled the people to remain there until midnight.
In view of the rally, Bernama was informed that a charity "Jacob's Walk of Life" involving 5,000 participants at the Malaysia Agriculture Park in Shah Alam had been called off for security reasons.
The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) has also shifted the Malaysia Cup football match scheduled for 8.45 pm between Armed Forces and UPB MyTEAM from the Kelana Jaya Stadium to the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
-- BERNAMA
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