Mythreyar to end hunger strike tomorrow - group
Pro-Palestine activist M Mythreyar has agreed to end his hunger strike against the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) shares to a Blackrock-linked company.
According to Sekretariat Solidariti Palestin (SSP) spokesperson Tian Chua, this decision was made after they voiced concerns about the activist’s deteriorating health condition.
“Several doctors have examined him...
Pro-Palestine activist M Mythreyar has agreed to end his hunger strike against the sale of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) shares to a Blackrock-linked company.
According to Sekretariat Solidariti Palestin (SSP) spokesperson Tian Chua, this decision was made after they voiced concerns about the activist’s deteriorating health condition.
“Several doctors have examined him and continue to monitor his status. They too have warned about potential long-term health repercussions as a result of his hunger strike.
“Taking this into consideration, we have appealed to Mythreyar to halt his hunger strike on the eighth day, and he has agreed to stop at the 200th-hour mark (at 4.30pm) tomorrow,” Chua said in a statement today.
Nevertheless, the protest will continue on different platforms, Chua pledged, adding that a press conference would be held at Dataran Merdeka at 4pm tomorrow as a show of solidarity.
Mythreyar told Malaysiakini that a second activist - Siti Aisah Ibrahim, a 31-year-old Grab driver from Ampang - joined him in the protest since 4.30pm yesterday.
“She’s from Ampang and wanted to join the hunger strike. We welcome her.
“She will be on hunger strike and stay the night here until the government listens to our demands,” he said.
Last Wednesday, Mythreyar began his strike in front of the Parliament building but later moved to Dataran Merdeka due to bad weather.
Symbol of protest
His act has garnered political support, including from Bersatu MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who held a press conference in Parliament to voice solidarity.
Aside from the hunger strike, Mythreyar has also started covering his mouth since yesterday as a sign of silent protest.
“This is a symbol, that the freedom of speech is waning in Malaysia,” he said.
On Monday, the Finance Ministry said the takeover offer for MAHB is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of this year and will require the approval of at least 90 percent of MAHB’s existing shareholders.
The takeover offer is a commercial transaction submitted by a consortium led by two of MAHB’s current shareholders - Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
If the offer is accepted and agreed upon by the other MAHB shareholders, Khazanah will own 40 percent of the shares in MAHB and the EPF will acquire 30 percent ownership, while the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) will hold another 30 percent of the shares.
Hunger strikes are a form of political protest used worldwide, some ending with starvation and death. Some protestors refuse only solids while others partake in a “dry hunger strike” where they also avoid consuming fluids.
In 2018, Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov, who was arrested in Crimea in 2014, completed a 145-day hunger strike - one of the longest recorded.
He was demanding the release of all Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russia and agreed to take oral nutritional supplements two months into the strike after he was threatened to be force-fed.
Why stop your hunger strike so soon? Ready to go home to eat banana leaf rice, rasam and pampudum now because all your Hamas sympathisers and supporters are having their full meals and drinks while you are alone with hunger strike?