Malaysians protest against planned 6% GST

KUALA LUMPUR — Thousands of Malaysians protested in downtown Kuala Lumpur yesterday against a looming goods and services tax (GST) that they fear will increase the cost of living. The rally coincided with others around the world marking International Labour Day, some of which turned violent in nations such as Cambodia and Turkey.

The Malaysian government said a 6 per cent tax would be implemented from April next year to boost revenue and curb rising debt. There are, however, mounting public concerns, also voiced by the opposition, that prices of goods will soar and further burden the poor after the government cut subsidies on fuel and electricity last year.

The rally at the capital’s iconic Merdeka Square was organised by a coalition of 95 non-governmental organisations and its theme was Anti GST — Until It is Dropped, said local media, which estimated the crowd of protesters, dressed in red, to be about 20,000. Civil society groups have staged large-scale rallies in Kuala Lumpur in recent years.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who heads the three-member Pakatan Rakyat alliance, told protesters the rally was a clear message that the people are against the new GST tax, “which is only going to make the cronies richer”.

Rally participants also slammed a court ruling in March that convicted Mr Anwar of sodomy, which is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, and sentenced him to five years in jail. Mr Anwar, who is free pending appeal, says the government is attempting to end his political career with the verdict.

“I want to tell the Prime Minister, ‘Don’t you dare touch Anwar’. The people will not allow Anwar to be jailed for even one second,” Mr Azmin Ali, Deputy President of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, told the crowd.

Some protesters also used the occasion to criticise the government on other issues, particularly its handling of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which has put the country under global scrutiny.

Earlier yesterday, in Butterworth, Penang, about 300 people gathered for a rally, demanding, among other things, the scrapping of GST.

Also yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the GST system would secure the country’s future with more robust yields. “This is the meaning that should be realised ... changes cannot be stopped … if we don’t change, we will face an economic squeeze and bring suffering to the people,” said Mr Najib, as quoted by Bernama news agency.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, civilian auxiliary police, armed with clubs, turned on May Day demonstrators after opposition leaders spoke to a crowd of nearly 1,000. At least five people were hurt, said human-rights group Licadho.

A ban on demonstrations has been in place since January, following numerous labour protests for a higher minimum wage and opposition demonstrations denouncing last July’s general election as rigged.

In Bangladesh, thousands of workers, including many from garment factories, took to the streets yesterday demanding the execution of the owner of a building that collapsed last year, killing more than 1,100 labourers in the worst disaster the garment industry has seen.

Hundreds of workers in Hong Kong also joined the Labour Day march there, calling for improved working conditions and for the government to restrict the number of working hours — a complaint felt by many, including construction workers, bus drivers and restaurant cooks.

Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said: “Hong Kong is a first-world, first-class world economy, but our labour law is really very backward.”

In Moscow, about 100,000 people marched through the Red Square — the first time the annual parade was held on the vast square outside the Kremlin since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In keeping with Soviet-era traditions, yesterday’s parade was organised by trade unions and honoured the working man. However, it also celebrated Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was seen as part of President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to stoke patriotic feelings. Marchers held up signs saying “Let’s go to Crimea for vacation” and “Putin is right”.

In the Philippines, thousands of workers marched peacefully in Manila to protest against low wages and employers’ practice of replacing regular employees with temporary hires who get low pay and little or no benefits. They also decried what they said was the failure of President Benigno Aquino to deliver on his anti-corruption and pro-poor reforms.

In Turkey, police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber pellets yesterday to stop thousands of May Day protesters, some armed with fire bombs, from defying Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and reaching Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, a traditional union rallying point and the focus of weeks of anti-government protests last summer. The Progressive Lawyers Association said about 40 people were hospitalised and around 160 were detained. AGENCIES