Some portals say it is 10,000 protesters; some say 20,000 and others do not even want to put an estimate to the huge turnout of Malaysians of all ages and ethnicity as they protested peacefully on May 1, 2015.

We must not be side-tracked with the numbers game.

What remains true is that the streets were filled with throngs of people coming in from several assembly points in the federal capital of Kuala Lumpur as the tens of thousands marched under the beating sun for a good three to five kilometres, converging at the iconic Twin Towers.

And what was their cry? We cannot continue to be yoked with the Goods and Services Tax (GST)!

Many also took advantage to express several other concerns and needs which was wrapped with that urging to the current Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (and his spouse too) to step down.

Many nations across the globe would have proudly paraded their contributions to their respective nations while their government showered appreciation, and motivating the workforce to proudly claim their role in nation building.

But sadly and painfully this is not the case in Malaysia. For the first time in decades, workers who had always paid their taxes, accepted wage freezes, and supported the government without revolting have now taken to a peaceful protest on their significant day that honours all human labour.

Try walking under the broiling sun on a baked tarmac for five kilometres.

That was the pain and anguish they endured to register their serious unhappiness and anguish with the government and its current leadership.

Indeed, if Mahatma Gandhi had been around, he would have saluted the Malaysians for their exemplary sense of ‘ahimsa’ or sense of non-violence.

Unfortunately while Gandhi’s great salt march sent the British scurrying, a Labour day protest may not make any dent on the Umno-BN regime.

This is not the first time that tens of thousands of Malaysians have taken to the streets in a peaceful manner. The Hindraf rally; the Bersih 1.0 and 2.0 protests; the Reformasi incidents - all of these were signature rallies by the public that would have made Mahatma Gandhi proud, too.

But despite all the past expressions, on Labour Day the workers are again crying out in the streets unable to cope with the untimely GST imposition by Najib’s administration.

A country that is oil rich and having earned total revenues (profits) of US$127.5 billion from 2005 till 2011 and having given some RM162.1 billion to the Umno-BN government for the same period, now must beat the breath out of its citizens with the GST burden.

Over the decades the citizens have been paying, without protest, hefty taxes for purchase of vehicles; they have been paying increasing tolls over the years; subsidies were systematically removed while juicy contracts were dished out discreetly to crony-capitalists.

Keeping people silenced

The Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Internal Security Act (ISA) kept people silenced. The threats and confrontations by so-called law-keepers kept citizens huddled in their homes; the subtle threats to civil servants sealed their lips permanently for fear of unwarranted transfers, cold-storage and even sacking.

But this May 1, 2015 clearly shows that the citizens are saying “enough is enough”.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad was right. Rafidah Aziz was right. Daim Zainuddin was right.

The people will abandon Umno-BN if the government of the day continues to be arrogant. If it continues to talk down to the rakyat; if it insists in using force to silence the people or as the prime minister rebuts saying, he will not be distracted from his agenda i.e. if Najib refuses to account for all the wealth of this nation these past 30 years - one can only imagine how long more will the citizens’ patience stretch.

Yes, whether we love or hate Dr Mahathir or whether we detest or salute the opposition political leaders, one thing is crystal clear: Umno-BN is no longer at a crossroads. It is already on the edge of a deep cliff.

That was the underlying message of this 20,000 crowd that marched down the streets in the broiling heat.

They are now asking what happened to all the 30-over years of wealth from revenues and tax ranging from toll to tariffs to import duties and vehicle taxes.

They are also not blind any longer to the strings of monopolies and contracts signed under the Official Secrets Acts, that have only made Malaysians to not even have cheap rice that is as good as what Myanmars, Thais and Cambodians eat every day.

And as they walked the streets under the merciless sun and broiling heat under their feet, they could not forget the images of opulence, extravagance and arrogance that seem to have become the signature labels of the leaders and gravy-train robbers of Umno-BN.

The future is yet to be seen. Will Umno-BN resurrect itself, correct its ways and bring new hope for the 30 million citizens by sledge-hammering corruption and accounting for all its wastages and omissions and in order to relieve the citizens of gross hardships?

Or will the rest of the 42 percent of Malay vote swing to the opposition camps come 2018?