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Malaysia
This Week in AsiaPolitics

Echoing Hong Kong protests, Malaysia’s ‘five demands’ to king over coronavirus go viral

  • The #KitaMintaLima (We ask for five) hashtag is similar to Hong Kong protesters’ ‘Five demands, not one less’ slogan
  • Sultan Abdullah is urged to take five steps to help the country amid anger over PM Muhyiddin Yassin’s government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic

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Malaysia's Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah plays a largely ceremonial role as a constitutional monarch but a new movement is calling on him to take steps over the coronavirus pandemic or change the government. Photo: AFP
Tashny Sukumaran
A hashtag urging Malaysia’s king to intervene in Covid-19 measures or change the government has gone viral in the country, garnering widespread support, especially from younger generations.
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The #KitaMintaLima (We ask for five) hashtag, reminiscent of Hong Kong protesters’ “Five demands, not one less” slogan, calls on Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah to take five steps amid growing discontent over the Southeast Asian nation’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

It calls for a targeted and effective lockdown; a show of support for frontline workers and the channelling of resources to combat the pandemic; automatic bank loan moratoriums and stimulus packages for citizens; equal enforcement of the rules imposed under the lockdown; and e-learning devices and internet access for all students.

Failing this, “a change of government”, reads the poster containing the demands.

The hashtag quickly reached trending status on Twitter, with influencers and politicians sharing the poster and commenting on the movement. It remains unclear who started it, but as of Monday afternoon over 50,000 tweets had been sent using the hashtag.

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