‘Rambo’ traders will flood Jalan TAR, City Hall warned

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur City Hall has been warned that guerilla traders, better known among the trading community as “Rambo”, will flood Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman here come Ramadan.

This, claimed traders, would be the outcome of the tug of war between traders and City Hall over the controversial move to shift the Ramadan bazaar from Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman to Jalan Raja.

Kuala Lumpur Bumiputera Traders and Hawkers Association president Datuk Seri Rosli Sulaiman said this was their last resort, claiming that attempts to negotiate with City Hall and the Federal Territories Ministry on the matter had failed.

“I foresee that the move (to Jalan Raja) will kill whatever business the traders have and at the end of the day, these Rambos will descend in the hundreds on the road.

“Those who do not get lots or didn’t bother to apply will be doing it from day one (of Ramadan), while others will return there within days from the onset of Ramadan.”

He said this after joining 300 traders at the Titiwangsa Stadium to gatecrash City Hall’s drawing of lots event for bazaar traders.

Batik seller Azkhalim Suradi said hardcore traders would resort to this as the general sentiment was that they were being backed into a corner.

He said this increased the likelihood of City Hall enforcement officers getting into skirmishes with rogue traders, which he claimed was an annual occurrence.

“Every year, there are fights and many enforcement officers are injured. I can show you the videos,” said Azkhalim.

He said emotions would run high this year as many traders have bought stock in advance.

“Some traders invested between RM200,000 and RM1 million to purchase stocks months ahead, only to learn that they have been relocated through a press statement on March 18.

“No one knew anything beforehand. If we knew about it, we would not have bought so much stock.”

He noted that businesses in Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman were co-dependent as the malls and foodstalls were in the area.

He said City Hall’s decision to bar cooked food at the bazaar had further thrown their plans into disarray.

“Think about it. The malls are in Jalan TAR. The food for those intending to break fast is around that corner, while we are in Jalan Raja 1km away.

“And here, there are only dried stuff and packed food. People will have to walk far if they want fresh food.”

Following its decision to move the bazaar to the heritage quarter, City Hall has decided to stop issuing 30 to 40 permits given to food stalls offering cooked food.

Zakira Zainal, 32, said she would see how things pan out, but stressed that if she incurred losses in Jalan Raja, she, too, would be forced to take matters into her own hand and “go Rambo”.

“I disagree with the shift, but I can’t take chances as I bought my stock earlier.”

The handbag trader was one of many who claimed that the circular and online registration for the bazaar had clearly stipulated that their applications were for the Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman baazar, not Jalan Raja.

Muslimah apparel trader Wani Juharudin, 53, disagreed with the move, but said she would just go ahead with trading in Jalan Raja.

“If we were told earlier that they were going to relocate us, I would have just sat this bazaar out, but they told me this at the last minute.

“I’ve invested RM30,000 to RM40,000 and I have payments to meet, so I will just trade in Jalan Raja.”