Thursday, June 5, 2008

Group protests petrol price hike

A group of people gathered here Thursday to voice their dissatisfaction over the petrol price hike announced Wednesday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The group of about 200 people, consisting DAP leaders, non-governmental organisations and unions, started assembling in front of the Federal Building here at Jalan Datuk Seri Ahmad Said at 11am and dispersed 30 minutes later. The protesters carried placards and banners criticising the increase. No untoward incidents were recorded although several policemen were on standby. Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran said Malaysia was a nett exporter of petroleum and it still had a lot of fuel reserve.

"The 40% increase will definitely bring hardship to the people as the price of goods will go up," he said, expressing outrage that the matter was not bought up during the recent Parliament sitting. Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang said the increase was too high, too steep and too sudden.
"We were initially told that the increase would only be in August. It’s only June, so why the increase?" he asked, adding that the increase would lead to spiralling inflation.

No comments: