KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — Unfazed by the repeated arrests over its rallies, the organisers of #KitaLawan are aiming to gather as many a million people in Kuala Lumpur on May 1 to protest the new Goods and Services Tax (GST).

PKR Youth chief strategist Akmal Nasir said the March 7 edition that drew a claimed 10,000 to the capital city to protest the jailing of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was evidence that the rally series could gather 100 times the number.

“We’ve proven to the public that we managed to get more than 10,000 on March 7 and for May 1, it’s not just for the #KitaLawan agenda, it’s for the public.

“So I think we just announce it and we try to instil the spirit for people to protest publicly and I think people will take it and people will come,” he said at a press conference today.

Jingga 13 chief Fariz Musa added that the public was “angry” with the implementation of the GST and that will push them to support the #KitaLawan movement that was started to show solidarity with the jailed PKR de facto chief.

“The public is angry about the GST and we’re confident either in person or not, they will give support and rise against the GST,” he said.

Akmal added that the movement would shift their weekly rallies to other states, beginning with Johor Baru next Saturday.

Despite the high turnout on March 7, subsequent #KitaLawan rallies calling for Anwar’s release have been attended by a dwindling number of supporters. — Picture by Saw Siow Feng

The group also plans to occupy an area in Dataran Merdeka and call it “Dataran #KitaLawan” as a symbolic move of defiance against the alleged police crackdown on dissent, as well as to express their right to peacefully assemble.

The #KitaLawan anti-GST protest on May 1 is to urge Putrajaya to abolish the tax scheme immediately, with the group claiming that the GST has caused an increase in the cost of living.

Labour groups and unions traditionally mark May 1 with rallies and protests over a variety of issues, but it is unclear if any will join the #KitaLawan event.

A previous protest over the tax led to the arrests of 79 people last month during a sit-in at the Federal Territory Customs Department office at Kelana Jaya, 25 of whom were later charged under Section 21(1)(d) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012 last Wednesday.

Among those arrested and charged are Socialist Party of Malaysia’s (PSM) Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, Kuala Krai MP Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli from PAS, PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan, as well as activists Badrul Hisham Shaharin, better known as Chegubard, and Muhammad Safwan Anang.

Despite the high turnout on March 7, subsequent #KitaLawan rallies calling for Anwar’s release have been attended by a dwindling number of supporters, with about 300 present during the most recent edition, possibly due to the arrests of several high-profile opposition politicians and activists.