Rally cancelled due to Muhyiddin’s resignation

Sekratariat Solidariti Rakyat (SSR) announced today that it has chosen to call off this Saturday’s #Lawan protest in light of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation as Prime Minister and the dissolution of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government earlier this week.

The organization said in a statement that the new Prime Minister sworn in by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong must demonstrate his legitimacy via a confidence vote in Parliament, not through obscure statutory pronouncements.

It said that the SSR wishes to emphasize that the #Lawan street demonstrations will not come to an end. The democratic process, which includes checks and balances on the governing administration, must be maintained.

It added that the group will not hesitate to organize further demonstrations if the new administration does not live up to its duty of ensuring the country’s peace in the face of the continuing Covid-19 epidemic and political turmoil.

Previously, SSR scheduled a gathering on August 21, ahead of Muhyiddin’s planned September Dewan Rakyat confidence motion.

He resigned, however, when his parliamentary majority was lost after non-PN parties unanimously rejected his offer of bipartisan cooperation.

SSR further said that the battle for people’s rights must be stepped up, particularly when they are persecuted by those in authority, highlighting Muhyiddin’s demise as a win for the people for the former’s leadership failures in handling Covid-19.

On July 31, hundreds of Malaysian teenagers converged in Kuala Lumpur’s central business district to participate in the #Lawan protest.

SSR organized the protest, which included activists from Undi18, Qyira Yusri, Afiq Adib, and Muhammad Alshatri, as well as Bersih’s Mohd Asraf Sharafi Mohd Azhar.

It requested Muhyiddin’s resignation, the reopening of Parliament, and an automatic loan moratorium for everyone. SSR had already organized numerous minor demonstrations, including a “Black Flag” demonstration near Dataran Merdeka on July 17 and a vehicle convoy on July 24.