KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — Youth coalition Sekratariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) said today it has decided to cancel this Saturday’s #Lawan, following the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister and the collapse of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government this week.
In a statement, the group said the new prime minister sworn in by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must prove his legitimacy through a confidence vote in Parliament and not through statutory declarations that it deemed opaque.
“SSR would like to stress that the #Lawan street protests will not come to a complete halt. Democratisation process including check-and-balance to the ruling government must be continued.
“We will not hesitate to organise further rallies if the new government fails in fulfilling its responsibility to ensure the peace of the country from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and political turmoil,” it said.
Previously, SSR announced it would hold a rally on August 21, ahead of Muhyiddin’s plan to table a confidence motion in Dewan Rakyat in September.
However, he resigned after losing his parliamentary majority as non-PN parties unanimously rejected his offer to work together in a bipartisan manner.
SSR also said the fight to uphold the people’s rights must further intensify especially when they are oppressed by those in power, citing the fall of Muhyiddin as a victory for the people for the former’s leadership failure in managing Covid-19.
On July 31, hundreds of Malaysian youths gathered in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to take part in the #Lawan protest.
The protest was organised by SSR that consists of activists like Undi18’s Tharma Pillai, Qyira Yusri, Afiq Adib and Muhammad Alshatri and Bersih’s Mohd Asraf Sharafi Mohd Azhar.
It demanded that Muhyiddin step down, for the Parliament to be reopened, and for an automatic loan moratorium for everyone.
SSR had also organised several small protests previously, including the “Black Flag” protest at Dataran Merdeka on July 17 and a vehicle convoy on July 24.
