There were over a hundred personnel, present at KLCC at about 1.30pm today, from the Malaysian Federal Reserves Unit (FRU), blue-uniformed and plain-clothes policemen. They were anticipating a demonstration from unhappy Malaysians taking to the streets in protest against the recent 30 sen hike in petrol prices.
KLCC security guards also got in the act when they started ushering-in people/shoppers, both local and foreign, who were standing outside the mall trying to figure out what was going on.
The guards and policemen told people to go into the complex immediately, before they closed/locked the doors/main entrance. The cops claimed that they couldn’t ensure the people’s safety if the ‘law enforcers’ started retaliating against the protestors.
Soon after, at about 2.30pm the demonstrators, comprising of primarily members/supporters of opposition parties Keadilan (PKR), PAS (Islamic party), PSM (Socialists) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP).
The protesters, about 2000, walked towards KLCC from Hotel Nikko carrying party flags, banners and posters. They chanted slogans such as “Hidup rakyat, minyak naik rakyat susah” (Citizens suffer when oil price increases).
Politicians from the various parties took turns to speak through a loud-speaker, which was unfortunately not loud enough, to the crowd while questioning the rational of the price hike and the government on what has happened to money collected from oil exports from the country.
Their speeches were often drowned out by a police helicopter flying over the crowd and around KLCC, sometimes flying a low as about a couple of hundred feet above the crowd. Although the copter was intimidating, loud and menacing, the protesters seemed undeterred by it.
The protest lasted for over an hour and a majority of the demonstrators dispersed peacefully. However it has been reported that some protesters continued their march to Jalan Sultan Ismail where they were doused by FRU water cannons. There were no apparent arrests.
article by housemate
FRU & Police
Politicians
Protestors
Helicopter Flies Very Low
KLCC Main Door Closed
picture courtesy of housemate
You went there ah? OR you are protestors?
my friend there.
u guys damn free to go protest together
haha
yaloh…. no need to work ah??
Of course have to work lah but also have to take interest and responsibility in things affecting our lives. better go do something apart from sit at home and bitch about how teruk the price increase is. anyway, whether anyone present at KLCC today where protestors or just people showing interest in what was happening, things like these need to be done to remind the authorities that they represent us and they should listen to our views. after all that’s how a democratically elected government works. hope to see you guys take responsibility for things affecting your lives. cos when things dont work out for us, we’ve got only ourselves to blame. cheers.
i didn’t even know got such serious thing happen til i read blog..but i wonder will it help?
will malaysia’s government listen to us?if thing won’t change,i would think it is kind of wasting time and energy having such protesting action.
if we don’t speak up, then no one will know. The go’men will think they can get away with anything and everything.
the protests have an immediate effect. Today the PM announced additional goodies for the rakyat. What they are, remains to be seen, but this means the protests are working.
Please, everyone. ‘Satu Hati, Satu Suara’, then the people will win!
Good night, and good luck.
Oh – forgot to add.
Nice to see you Mr. Housemate!
Ling:
1. Protest creates AWARENESS. If not for the protest, would you have thought about whether protest are useless?
2. Only you can help. Not protest. If you don’t like the government, TELL THEM when its election time. Don’t sohai-sohai vote for them
Paul & housemate:
When you two inviting me for beer?
Ling, me too! Malaysia also heng riots one meh??? I thought malaysian always diam diam sit down there one…
The thing is if the ordinary citizens like us do not show this ‘increase prices as they please’ government that we are not happy about the latest drastic fuel price hike !
Are any of you happy to be paying an extra 20,30, 40 or 50 ringgits everytime you fuel up your car?
Are you gonna be happy to be paying extra for anything else in your life from now on?
Are you gonna let the freeloading dictators do as they please without objection ?
If the citizens of this country do not stand up and voice out against oppression as they did back in the 50s, we will all still be colonised by the British!
Today, these BN are making us pay more for fuel when they have already been robbing the people blind thru the years by all kinds of inflation that they induced unnecessarily!
No protests means you have just greased yourself up to be screwed by the BN as they please! What a shame!!!
http://mahaguru58.blogspot.com
koyuuken et al:
Please take note. Protest is spelled P R O T E S T. Riot is spelled R I O T. They are not the same. Please do not buy into the propaganda that protest=riot. The dictionary can help you to note the difference. 😉
Many times in many places, riots are instigated by 3rd party who have ill interest to create problem. Average Jane and Joe like you and me will not (like Andrew said earlier) sohai-sohai to burn buildings down.
I totally agree with Tuna. In Malaysia, after a good demonstration session, Malaysian protesters go to Starbucks or their favourite Mamak Stall to have a good brew of coffee or teh tarek and laugh over the excitement.
We are not a mob. only mobs riot.
Gentlemen stand up and voice their point of views, and “Protest”.
That’s exactly what I have been saying all this while!
We, who protest do so out of a inner sense of looking out for our interests and those of our fellow citizens!
We are not stupid to go destroy this and that like what tuna posts about the 3rd party agent provocateurs and criminally insane provocators did during the Reformasi demonstrations!
Reformasi back then centred and focused on one man @ Anwar Ibrahim!
Malaysians were demonstrating back then to protest the gross injustice of slamming a person into jail for refusing to kowtow to the ruling PM then!
The reasons were entirely different from the protests going on today!
Today, we who protest against the current PM’s decisions do so because our livelihood is being screwed unnecessarily by raising the costs of our basic living.
Petrol is not a luxury that we can do without. It is a basic necessity. We drive our cars using petrol as the fuel.
This current PM and his deputy are asking us to live a lower lifestyle but they themselves do not practice what they preach!
The moment they are willing to move out of their palaces in Putrajaya, drive a Kancil, stop at all the traffic lights together with tax paying citizens, live as the average Malaysian does and do not do contrary to all that these two bozos are currently enjoying, then maybe we could think about their present cock and bull story.
As it is , to protest is to voice out our objection as a rightful citizen of this land.
If we just shut our mouths and bury our head into the sand as ostriches do, hello!!!….just wait for worse things to come!
Protest as loudly as we can but remain civil as long as we are able to.
Rioting just shows the lower base sense of a person’s lack of integrity!
So, please do not lump protesters and rioters together!
There’s a whole world of difference between the two! Do you agree?
Hey, may I know what kind of camera your housemate is using ah ? Good sharpe image there. Model ?
SC, Nikon Coolpix 5900, I lend to my hm take photo..
andrew. cant afford beer anymore. but will invite u over as soon as petrol prices drop. i’ve got a feeling that it may drop a little if Malaysians continue to protest PEACEFULLY both on the streets, in the media, etc…
was good to see u too ms.shagadelica
mahaguru, keep speaking out dude! good to hear more sensible, convicted and passionate voices on this blog.
Go’men すいとる to the マキシマム.
housemate: 你的级白！You promise me long time ago ok?
Housemate, Danny, JerryWho, Paul, Jack,: All those Mkini pics on Jeffooi.com… taken with D50.
MUAHAHAHHA
Andrew! you are paid to cover the story, dun “Muahahahaha” us!
shit!!! msia gov control all mass media & cover this protest news… we all dunno until ppl fwd this blog link….
Hehe, yesterday, KLCC Protest again…….
http://utopia.e-channel.info/index.php?job=art&articleid=a_20060327_020403
housemate and all other bloggers here,
I love this country just like each and everyone of us here do. We were all born in this land. This is our nation.
To speak out against injustice doesn’t mean we are like those who go and cause mayhem and destruction of public properties by rioting etcetera!
We who comment here and online in many other blogs and forums do so in the name of seeking justice for all!
I am color blind as far as races here in Malaysia or elsewhere is concerned.
I will continue speaking out to ask that those who hold authority over us realise that they are there because the majority of the citizens voted them in.
Surely, one should not bite the hand that feeds them or as in this case who crossed that voting slip for them!
maha,
good words. again, i say keep it up. hopefully more people will ‘voice out’ their unhappiness via the polls next election.
however, sometimes i can understand violent protests as some people have more aggresive ways of showing their happiness. I dont condone it but can see where the frustration comes from.
Do You know how bad malaysian goverment was, they dont care about Human Rights, just look for examples like Burma being invited to join as member in ASEAN.
They should ask for the International Famous Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (www.dassk.org)to freed from the House arrest to work toward the fully democratized nations. http://nobelprize.org/peace/laureates/1991/index.html
They rather promoted the Military regimes become ASEAN members,who kills thousand of burmese students , and its own people by saying ..yeah..we are working towards democracy…The malaysian goverment knew all about this, but then again there is an oil resources in Burma which will profit for Malaysian People or May be by Gov themself..but however why Malaysian have to pay increased fuel prices.
Mahathir might be a good leader once..hey..just look for example,,did he achieved internatiionally recognized award like our Burm Heroine do?…look for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi received humantarian prizes during her under house arrest since 10 years ago.
http://www.dassk.org/contents.php?id=42
Lets work together to peacful developing nations and support DASSK to be released As Soon As Possible.
hi ko ko,
that was a bit off topic, but no problems, the Burmese situation needs various forums to reach others. log-on to http://www.aseanmp.org, (if you havent already). you may find some useful stuff there.
those interested in Burma should visit the website too. (sorry ah Paul, use your blog to do marketing…). Bt dont worry, i’ll certainly tell aung san suu kyi that you have contributed a lot…:)
反油价上涨运动继续开展
http://utopia.e-channel.info/index.php?job=art&articleid=a_20060424_150439
528新闻剪影：警察暴力驱散反对燃油和电费起价
http://utopia.e-channel.info/index.php?job=art&articleid=a_20060528_222134
I just dont understand our ppl. You ppl living in a very good condition and the goverment is trying hard to improve the ppl’s life but yet you guys come up with this nonsense. You all saw what PAS, KeADILAN, DAP has done to the state of Kelantan and Terengganu. I would not gamble with my future to vote for ppl like them.
I went overseas to work not because I don’t like Malaysia or it’s Goverment. I want to prove to other ppl that Malaysian can work as good or even better than them. But when I see my own countrymen trying very hard to destroy our goverment, deep down inside I’m sad and dissapointed. Please ppl, try to understand that to live in Malaysia is a blessed. Don’t do such stupid action and don’t listen to the opposition.