#Turun protest just a beginning, it will continue until govt resolves issue on rising cost of living, says activist

SHAH ALAM - As of today, 11 out of the 30 people summoned over the #Turun protest have had their statements recorded.

Activist Mandeep Singh said the remaining 19 who had participated in the protest will give their statements tomorrow.

He said this was a normal procedure by the police and all the participants have given their full cooperation.

He said although it has been 48 hours after the protest over the rising cost of living, the govenment has yet to address the issue.

"It has been 48 hours and the government has continuously failed to address the issue despite the protest.

"The #Turun movement is not the first protest that was held, it is a continous protest and happening all over the country.

"Twenty-five days have passed since subsidies were removed and we have not seen any stern action taken by the government," he said.

Mandeep who is also the political secretary to Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo stressed that the government needed to carry out its duty by looking into the issue throughly to help the people.

"We need immediate action to be taken by the government to look into the prices of goods.

"We do not need food banks, let the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) handle that," he said when asked whether there were any response from the government over the #Turun protest.

Mandeep also said the movement will continue highlighting the issue as much as possible.

"The NGOs, several political parties and student activists are campaigning around, explaining to the people about the ongoing issue.

"We will definitely continue what we are doing, we will keep on pressuring the government.

"#Turun was just an opening, we will continue to pressure whether through social media, on the ground or going from town to town to highlight the issue," he said.

On July 23, around 100 protestors gathered at the Sogo shopping mall to send a clear message to the government by holding a protest against the rising cost of living.

The crowd, led by activist Sevan Doraisamy had attempted to march from the shopping mall at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to Dataran Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur but was unsuccessful as police formed a human barricade to block the group from marching forward.

The group who called themselves “Turun Movement” had demanded the government to take action on the rising prices of goods.

At the rally, protestors were seen carrying placards, banners and black flags which stated among others 'Five Demands Not Less', 'Potong Gaji Menteri' and 'Turun Harga Barang'.

It was believed that majority of the protestors comprised university students who had complained about the price hike of food.