About 100 people took part in a protest organised by Amanah at Kampung Baru this afternoon over the rising prices of goods.
The protesters held up placards that read “BN = Barang Naik” and “Kembalikan subsidi barang makan”.
The rally started at 2pm after Friday prayers and ended at around 3pm.
Some 15 police personnel were there to ensure the rally remained orderly as the participants called on the government to resolve the issue.
Addressing the crowd, Amanah vice-president Adly Zahari said Putrajaya should have had measures in place to keep prices stable from last year, adding that more Malaysians could be classified as poor after the pandemic.
“This has to stop. The rising prices of goods are burdening the people more and more as the days go by,” said Adly.
He said the government should have fixed all these problems during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The government was given RM4.4 billion for subsidies, but where is it? Hence, we are protesting today,” he said.
The former Melaka chief minister also said the Ismail Sabri Yaakob-led government did not have the capability to safeguard the interests of the Malay community.
“I hope Malaysians will choose to change the government (at the next general election). We (Pakatan Harapan) can do a better job at leading the country,” he said.
Also present were Amanah communications director and former federal territories minister Khalid Samad, party secretary-general Hatta Ramli and Permatang Pasir assemblyman Faiz Fadzil.
Faiz told reporters the party had several demands, including for the government to reveal at the Dewan Rakyat meeting this month how it plans to address the rising cost of living.
He also urged Putrajaya to reinstate the subsidies for bottled cooking oil.
The government had ceased subsidising cooking oil for 2kg, 3kg and 5kg bottles from today. Only those sold in 1kg polybags, meant for the B40 poor, are still being subsidised.
Faiz warned that Amanah would hold another protest if Putrajaya does not address the issue by July 16.
For the past few weeks, the rising prices of food, from vegetables to roti canai, have made headlines, prompting the government to institute certain measures, including maintaining ceiling prices and bans on exports.
The rise in prices has been attributed to domestic and international supply chain issues and a spike in the cost of raw materials, blamed partly on the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The government implemented a new ceiling price of RM9.40 per kg for chicken from today. New ceiling prices have also been set for chicken eggs.
Previously, the prime minister had announced an increase in the Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) cash aid, in view of the removal of certain subsidies as well as the rising cost of goods.
Eligible B40 recipients will receive an additional RM100 per household while singles will get an extra RM50. Ismail said the government has allocated an additional RM630 million for this.
The government has also set up a special committee to wage “jihad” on inflation.