'Don't be blind, deaf to our feelings'
Tarani Palani & Rahmah GhazaliPublished: Jul 7, 2008 6:01 AM | Updated: Jul 7, 2008 9:48 AM
Yesterday’s day-long rally organised by Protes brought together ordinary Malaysians from far-flung parts of the country.
Yesterday’s day-long rally organised by Protes brought together ordinary Malaysians from far-flung parts of the country.
Many travelled to the Kelana Jaya Stadium in Petaling Jaya in spite of personal hardship and, ironically, the higher cost of fuel, to make a statement in the strongest possible terms.
The fuel price hikes - and corresponding increase in price of goods and services - have hit the poorest Malaysians hardest.
Their message: We’ll persist in making the government listen to us!
M Saraswathy from Perak, 40, national deputy chairperson, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
There are 300 of us here representing PSM Perak. We don’t think the gathering is illegal. Article 10 of the Federal Constitution defends our right to assemble peacefully.
We have come all the way because life evolves around oil. The price of flour, rice and everything has increased while our minimum wage has remained static. This (protest) is nothing personal against individuals in the government. This is a general issue.
We faced police road blocks in Ipoh near Jelapang. Mohanarani (PSM central committee member) and Ghanasubram (PSM Buntong chairperson) had their identity card numbers taken down before they let us continue our journey.
Mat Dali Mat Selamat from Malacca, 60, retired army personnel
I decided to join the gathering because it is responsibility of all Malaysians to stand up against price increases. I hope the government will learn from this protest, and not be blind and deaf to the sentiments of the people.
I am sure the joint army-police exercise was intended to plant fear in the general public. The army is not trained to interact with civilians and I am speaking as a retired army personnel.
But this is our right! We have every right to voice our discontent. In our struggle to (express ourselves), we cannot fear all these tactics. We just have to be persistent in speaking out until (decision makers) hear our cry.
Zulkifli Ismail from Terrengganu, 30, office boy
We rented a bus and 40 of us are from one village in Terengganu. We started out at 6am this morning. We are not the only ones, there are many villages and they have organised similar efforts.
We cannot bear the excruciating increase (in prices). We are from villages you know, not urban areas. We don’t earn RM5,000 a month, unlike some urbanites. We earn less than RM1,000 a month.
How am I going to use that amount to feed my four children?
This whole sodomy allegation against Anwar is typical of political ploys but really, don’t they have any other better things to do? I personally don’t buy it.
Hamka Elias from Johor, 29, rubber contractor
The fuel price is getting ridiculous. I live in a village and it is painful to survive with so little money daily. I have two young children and have to spend double now on milk, diapers and rice.
I car-pooled with a friend from Batu Pahat and we split the petrol cost to get here. I may be a villager with little know-how of the outside world, but we from villages are not stupid.
We don’t believe the sodomy allegations against Anwar. This is a repeat of what happened 10 years ago and it's ridiculous that they want us to believe it the second time.
PHOTO GALLERY of Kelana Jaya demo
Watch 30-min video of Anwar's speech
Many travelled to the Kelana Jaya Stadium in Petaling Jaya in spite of personal hardship and, ironically, the higher cost of fuel, to make a statement in the strongest possible terms.
The fuel price hikes - and corresponding increase in price of goods and services - have hit the poorest Malaysians hardest.
Their message: We’ll persist in making the government listen to us!
M Saraswathy from Perak, 40, national deputy chairperson, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)
There are 300 of us here representing PSM Perak. We don’t think the gathering is illegal. Article 10 of the Federal Constitution defends our right to assemble peacefully.
We have come all the way because life evolves around oil. The price of flour, rice and everything has increased while our minimum wage has remained static. This (protest) is nothing personal against individuals in the government. This is a general issue. We faced police road blocks in Ipoh near Jelapang. Mohanarani (PSM central committee member) and Ghanasubram (PSM Buntong chairperson) had their identity card numbers taken down before they let us continue our journey.
Mat Dali Mat Selamat from Malacca, 60, retired army personnel
I decided to join the gathering because it is responsibility of all Malaysians to stand up against price increases. I hope the government will learn from this protest, and not be blind and deaf to the sentiments of the people.
I am sure the joint army-police exercise was intended to plant fear in the general public. The army is not trained to interact with civilians and I am speaking as a retired army personnel.
But this is our right! We have every right to voice our discontent. In our struggle to (express ourselves), we cannot fear all these tactics. We just have to be persistent in speaking out until (decision makers) hear our cry.
Zulkifli Ismail from Terrengganu, 30, office boy
We rented a bus and 40 of us are from one village in Terengganu. We started out at 6am this morning. We are not the only ones, there are many villages and they have organised similar efforts.
We cannot bear the excruciating increase (in prices). We are from villages you know, not urban areas. We don’t earn RM5,000 a month, unlike some urbanites. We earn less than RM1,000 a month. How am I going to use that amount to feed my four children?
This whole sodomy allegation against Anwar is typical of political ploys but really, don’t they have any other better things to do? I personally don’t buy it.
Hamka Elias from Johor, 29, rubber contractor
The fuel price is getting ridiculous. I live in a village and it is painful to survive with so little money daily. I have two young children and have to spend double now on milk, diapers and rice.
I car-pooled with a friend from Batu Pahat and we split the petrol cost to get here. I may be a villager with little know-how of the outside world, but we from villages are not stupid.
We don’t believe the sodomy allegations against Anwar. This is a repeat of what happened 10 years ago and it's ridiculous that they want us to believe it the second time.
PHOTO GALLERY of Kelana Jaya demo
Watch 30-min video of Anwar's speech
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