2,000 play 'cat and mouse' with cops
Malaysiakini Team Jun 13, 08 11:57am
About 2,000 people marched from Kampung Baru mosque after Friday prayers to the iconic Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur to protest against last week's sharp rise in petrol prices.
MCPX
However, the police have blocked Jalan Raja Abdullah - the main road leading to the destination - Kuala Lumpur City Centre - about 3km away.
Faced with the roadblocks, marchers used alternative roads instead, many of whom headed north in a circuitous route to KLCC.
Onlookers and bystanders at that point were caught by the loudness of the crowd who kept chanting "turun turun Abdullah!" incessantly along Jalan Raja Alang and towards Chow Kit.At 2.22pm, many of them were in Chow Kit area, north of the city, with the traffic police seen helping to control the traffic which was in a standstill as the crowd flooded the route.
The marchers, led by PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub, then headed south along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman towards Jalan Sultan Ismail.However, in the effort to avoid an ugly confrontation with the police who have formed a tight cordon around KLCC, the crowd marched further south to the Sogo Department store.
And at Sogo, the crowd of about 2,000 people decided to conduct an impromptu sit-in in the middle of the busy Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, forcing traffic to a standstill."We want to show how unhappy the Malaysian public are with the oil price rise," said Salahuddin Ayub, PAS youth chief and rally organiser.
"The government has forced us to the streets to demand a reversal of this disastrous policy. This is more than a wake-up call for the PM," he said.
"This is a message to the government. If they don't act, we will have one million people turn up on July 5 to demand action."
The crowd responded: "Overthrow the policy!"
"We must support the people's rights to demand more help from the government because we are suffering from this price rise," said Siti Anisah, a 45-year-old clerk wearing a blue headscarf.
"I think there will be more protests because we definitely don't want to pay so much more. How do I feed my children?" she said.
PAS vice-president Mohd Sabu also spoke to the crowd, telling them of the extravagant expenses undertaken by those in power."I now have to pay RM7 for just rice and vegetables and while the people are suffering, while the wife of the deputy minister (Najib Abdul Razak) spent a few hundred thousand pounds in England."
Following that, about 1,000 continued their march towards the PAS headquarters located about one kilometre away in Jalan Raja Laut.
The crowd then dispersed peacefully upon reaching the PAS building, after once again hearing a short reminder from Salahuddin for the crowd to participate in the July 5 mass rally.
The rally started at about 2pm and ended by 3.15pm.Unlike previous rallies, not a single tear-gas canister was fired and not a drop of acid-laced water was used against the protestors.
PAS leader Dr Dzulkifli Ahmad said that the march was a success although the police had blocked their route to the KLCC.
We were still able to express our dissatisfaction," he told Malaysiakini.
Dangi Wangi OCPD ACP Zulkarnain Abd Rahman, when contacted, said that no arrests were made so far and that the situation has been under control.
Heavy police presence
Earlier at the Friday afternoon prayers, the mosque was packed with people - numbering some 3,000, while about 500 others prayed outside.
About 1pm, PAS leaders Salahuddin, Dzulkilfi, Syed Azman Syed Nawawi and Nasaruddin Tantawi arrived at the mosque.
Just before the prayers, a mosque official urged people not to gather in the mosque compound to take part in the rally.
Earlier this morning, hundred of Federal Reserve Unit members were stationed at the Kampung Baru mosque and its surrounding areas.
Also in the vicinity was a water cannon truck and four FRU trucks.Several roads leading to Kampung Baru and other roads in the city were also blocked by the police.
Meanwhile in KLCC, dozens of police officers were seen at the entrance. One water cannon and seven FRU trucks were stationed behind KLCC at the park, along with a fire brigade truck.
The rally today, one of many that is to be held in the coming weeks, is to oppose last the whopping 41 percent fuel price hike, which raised petrol prices at the pump to RM2.70 per litre