Cops To Keep Watch Over Rally Against Fuel Price Hike

KUALA LUMPUR: Police will assist in monitoring a planned rally to protest the recent 20 sen hike for RON95 petrol and diesel at Dataran Merdeka at 4pm, Saturday.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Senior Deputy Comm Datuk Tajuddin Md Isa, however, said police still viewed the rally as illegal as the organisers did not submit an application to hold it, as required under the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012.

"I discourage people from attending the rally. But if they decide to go, we have no problem as long as they keep it peaceful and adhere to the guidelines under the Act.

"We will still take the necessary steps to investigate the organisers as they did not submit their notice," he told The Star, Friday.

It is learnt that police would be mobilised around Dataran Merdeka and its nearby areas on Saturday, but it was indicated that their role would be more on passive monitoring than cracking down on protesters.

This comes after an image of details regarding the rally was circulated on WhatsApp, Friday afternoon. It is still unclear who the organisers of the rally are.

On Wednesday, it was announced that the price of RON95 petrol and diesel would be raised by 20 sen per litre to RM2.30 and RM2.20 respectively.

Despite the negative response by motorists to the price hike, Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek indicated that the upcoming Budget 2015 will offset the price hike by "increasing BR1M" among other measures.

“It is a very minimal hike in petrol price. Wait for the budget. It will address the burden by increasing BR1M and other measures,” Hassan reportedly said. - The Star