Press Conference by Dr Hiew King Cheu in Kota Kinabalu on Sunday, 8^th June 2008: 

Sabah DAP calls for a mass ‘silent protest’ over fuel price increase

Sabah DAP has called for a mass ‘silent protest’ by the people of Sabah on this coming 12 June, to protest over the latest fuel price increase which it described as both steep and unreasonable.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference held here this morning, DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu Dr Hiew King Cheu proposed that on the said day, all motorists in the state stop and park their vehicles on the roadside for 15 minutes starting from 12 noon, to demonstrate their displeasure over the issue.

He urged the people to pass the message around.

“We hope people from all over the state will take part in the silent protest on that particular day and time so as to get the message across to the government. If the 15 minutes silent protest is ignored by the government, then it shows that the government simply could not be bothered with the people’s suffering as a result of the steep increase of fuel prices.
“We may call for a second round of silent protest after that with extended time, until the government gets the people’s message,” he said.

Dr Hiew stressed that as a government that is elected by the people it should not ignore or neglect the people’s welfare, or worse cause them to suffer.

He noted that the sharp increase in the fuel prices had outraged the general population of this country, especially those in Sabah as the state is an oil producing state.

“Many people are already concerned with the imminent ‘chain reaction’ of the fuel price increase which will for sure trigger a hike in the prices of many essential goods and services after this,” he said.

He also said many Sabahans who he talked to were of the opinion that the government has lost its direction in managing the impact of the global oil price increase.

“They considered the steep increase in fuel prices as ridiculous and unacceptable citing the fact that Malaysia is a net petroleum exporting nation,” he related.

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* Dr Hiew King Cheu, DAP MP for Kota Kinabalu