GERAKAN Belia Punjabi Malaysia president Gurpreet Singh has taken over the hunger strike started by activist Nathaniel Tan who demanded urgent action from the government to address the people’s woes caused by the health and economic crises.

Gurpreet, who replaced Tan at 5pm today, said the Covid-19 situation in the country was worrying and he could not sit and watch his beloved nation lose the battle. 

“The increasing number of deaths and high daily cases is extremely worrying. I am starting to feel an increasing sense of helplessness as all of our efforts continue to fall short.

“As I do not have the heart to sit by and watch my country lose this battle, I will be taking inspiration from Tan to continue his fight.

“I will be going on an indefinite fast from 5pm, August 9. From this point, I will not consume any food and will closely follow the advice of my team,” he said in a Facebook post today, adding that his actions are not politically motivated.

Gurpreet said he would continue to push for the five demands set out by Tan.

“It is a spark that Tan started and we want every Malaysian to be part of it because we are not doing this for ourselves but for Malaysia and the people of Malaysia.

“Hopefully, whatever we are asking for lands on the right ears,” Gurpreet said in a video message.

Tan, who started his hunger strike on August 4, only consumed liquid and camped out on the walkway of a row of shop lots in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.

He erected a small blue tent with a mini Malaysian flag on the roof of his temporary home during his strike.

Tan’s five demands are:

1. Encourage participation of experts to advise the government on the course of action that should be taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. Allocate RM500 million to support hospitals in handling the pandemic.

3. Protection for whistle blowers, allowing civil servants to speak freely, emphasising the need to suspend the government general order prohibiting civil servants from speaking publicly.

4. Transparency while executing Covid-19 policies.

5. Provide free and adequate supplies to all front-liners.

Tan posted a video on Twitter, showing him passing Gurpreet the Malaysian flag and a bottle of water.

He expressed his delight at Gurpreet’s gesture to take over the hunger strike and said he had not lost faith in Malaysians.

“I’m so relieved that somebody can take on and continue the fast. Really means the world to me.

“Showed me once again that I did not misplace my faith in Malaysians to help each other in times of need,” Tan said. – August 9, 2021.