SEBERANG JAYA, May 1 – Almost 1 thousand protesters clad in red came up in droves to the Penang state government-organised Labour Day gathering to oppose the goods and services tax (GST) which is started on 5pm today at Tapak Ekspo Seberang Jaya, Penang.
PKR’s Seberang Jaya assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin, and DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim, were among the first speakers to take the stage.In the same time, Dr Afif held a pop quiz for the audience and offered those who answered correctly free tickets to the football match between Penang and Selangor UiTM later tonight.
The crowd did not miss a beat in answering the questions, which included the consumption tax percentage, the price paid by the prime minister’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor for her hair care and the price of fresh flowers at a wedding held in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The winners were those who answered, “6%”, “RM1,200” and “RM12 million”.
To the question of who would win in the May 7 by-election in Permatang Pauh, crowds of people started shouting and drowned out each other’s voices in answer. Meanwhile, the winner chosen by Dr Afif was a girl who shouted “Kak Wan”, the nickname of PKR’s candidate in the by-election, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
After that, continue with Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan which peppered the speeches with jokes to entertaining the crowd. Ahmad Maslan has been in the news lately for his remarks on the consumption tax, which drew the ire of several veteran Barisan Nasional leaders, the most prominent being former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
