Bazaar traders take up smaller space
KUALA LUMPUR: The bazaar at the Umno General Assembly has been a crowd puller every year for its vast variety of products as well as for the tackiness of some of the goods on offer.
However, instead of taking up the entire event hall on Level 3 of the Putra World Trade Centre here, only a handful of entrepreneurs are occupying a much smaller space in the lobby this year.
T-Crafts batik and songket owner Datuk Hashim Mamat said he took a smaller shop this year.
“Usually, I would book two booth to store all my batik and also Umnodesigned sampin and shirts but I anticipated that sales would be slower.
“So far, on the first day, we do not see as much sales as previously,” said the entrepreneur from Terengganu, who has been taking part in the bazaar for over 10 years.
“I expect sales to be slashed by half,” said Hashim, who has VIP customers buying from his store, including former ministers and royalty members.
Despite it being a much toneddown affair, this year’s assembly can still depend on Umno members to turn out in full force in support of the party.
Besides the 5,739 delegates attending the assembly, some 10,000 members are expected to observe the proceedings.
The attendees comprise 2,760 delegates for the main assembly, 993 delegates for Wanita Umno, 989 for the Puteri wing and 997 for Umno Youth.
Party executive secretary Datuk Sumali Reduan said the headquarters was expecting the same number of people this year.
“There won’t be too drastic of a change. We still expect loyal members to attend the assembly,” he said in an interview.
He said the assembly was a scaleddown affair because Umno had to consider the costs of holding such an event now that it was in the opposition.
“But meals will still be provided to our guests, including the media. Don’t worry,” he said.
While in the past, the various state Umno would host daily lunches or dinners for the delegates during the assembly, only the party president held a dinner for party members last night.
The media centre remains at the Mawar Hall despite the reduced the number of reporters.
Around 600 media personnel have registered to cover the event, half of the previous crowd.