KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: Several thousand people marched more than one kilometre yesterday to protest the recent fuel price hike.

The crowd was, however, much smaller than the 20,000 the organisers had hoped to attract.

The protesters, led by Pas Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub, walked from Kampung Baru Mosque to Pas headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut.

The march began immediately after Friday prayers at 2.10pm. The protesters carried banners and chanted slogans urging the government to reduce the price of fuel.

The protesters had planned to march to Petronas' headquarters at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre but were unable to do so as the police had blocked off Jalan Raja Abdullah and Jalan Sultan Ismail.

They also stopped in front of Sogo for about 20 minutes to hear speeches by Salahuddin Ayub, Pas vice-president Mohamad Sabu, Angkatan Muda Keadilan chief, Shamsul Iskandar Mohamad Ali and several other Pas leaders.

A massive traffic jam gridlocked Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman and other roads in the area for hours.

Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said there were no untoward incidents.

He said permits were not issued for the march and the organisers were also not allowed to make speeches.

Zulkarnain said police would investigate those behind the march.

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