The aim of the hunger strike against the Lynas Advanced Material Plant (Lamp) is to raise awareness, not stop it outright, according to a participant.

Lynas hunger strike "Many people don't care, including the friend who just called me," said Chow Wai Sen ( right) when met near Dataran Merdeka today.

"They just work, make money, have no time, and say, ‘It is useless. The factory has even started production. You can't do anything'.

"We are here to just to raise awareness. Of course we can't change anything... Even if 100,000 people protest on the streets, we can't stop them.

"But we can raise awareness, vote for the opposition and stop Lynas through political means," said the 59-year-old.

Chow, a retired engineer from Kluang, Johor, also said that he felt fine after 40 hours of having nothing eat because he had always looked after his health.

He also claimed to be among those who had completed the full 300km anti-Lynas march last month.

Marched until boils popped up

"No problems (with my health at all). Some in the march had boils on their feet and could not walk, so they had to be taken by car to  town and continue when they felt better.

"It is not like what Pahang Menteri Besar's (Adnan Yaakob) claimed that we only walked a short distance and continued by car.

"There are seven or eight of us like myself who did not even board a car throughout the journey," he said.

Lynas hunger strike Chow was among the initial batch of 18 people who vowed to consume nothing but water at Dataran Merdeka from 8pm on Dec 27 until the New Year.

The group's coordinator Monny Chong ( right ) said the numbers have since swelled to 34, while another two have pulled out.

Of the first pullout, she said the person was "tempted away" by his friends with food yesterday and now helps with the protest's logistics.

Meanwhile, protest participant Moree Ngai said the other who gave up this morning was a 10-year old girl, who has developed a fever and was advised to break her fast.

When visited at about noon, the participants were sheltering from the heat at a park near Dataran Merdeka, and planned to return to the historic square in the evening.

Lynas hunger strike Some were still asleep at the time, while others occupied themselves with reading, playing cards, or listening to music.

A signboard had also been put up at Dataran Merdeka yesterday at about 5pm that spells out a part of the Local Government (Dataran Merdeka) By-Law 1992, including prohibition on sleeping there or being there from 1am to 6am.

Despite this, participants say Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officials merely check on the group from a distance from time to time, and there has been no interference from any party in their protest.