Protesters drop bid to burn effigy

Plans to burn an effigy of Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew at a protest against transport fare hikes last Saturday were watered down, literally, after police told organisers that burning it was illegal.

So, instead, a few people gathered around the figure, which had a photo of Mr Lui speaking in Parliament stuck on it, to splash water from water bottles on it.

This happened at the end of the event, held at Speakers' Corner, Hong Lim Park.

Organisers said a few protesters had walked or cycled to the event, to boycott the public transport system.

Some showed up with placards which read "Why pay more for lousy train service?" and "We demand no fare hike".

The protest comes after the Public Transport Council (PTC) announced on Jan 16 that bus and train fares would increase by 3.2 per cent from April 6.

The two-hour event, which started at about 5.20pm, was organised by Mr Gilbert Goh, founder of the Movement for a Better Singapore.

Speakers included opposition member Osman Sulaiman, and lawyer M. Ravi.

They spoke mainly about the spate of train disruptions, as well as how SMRT's current and former chief executives - Mr Desmond Kuek and Ms Saw Phaik Hwa, respectively - had no experience in running public transport systems.

One speaker, aircraft technician Soong See Choo, said he walked about 8km for two hours, from Serangoon to the protest venue near Chinatown.

The 50-year-old said: "I chose to walk the distance... to register my disaffection with the latest unjustifiable fare hike."

Others said they were unhappy with the PTC's recent comments that the fare hike and spate of train breakdowns were separate issues.

Mr Goh said protest organisers decided to shelve their plans to burn an effigy of Mr Lui after the police warned them yesterday afternoon that they would be arrested if they carried out the act.

"We still want to be law-abiding," said Mr Goh, who had told the protesters not to cut or stamp on the effigy as well.

"I think people are more involved," he added, unlike in previous protests where participants merely listened to several speeches.

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