Traders shun proposed new site
Batu Kawah hawkers seek Wong’s help to remain in present trading location, want to trade only 2 days a week
KUCHING: A group of 500 night market traders operating at Lorong Persiaran Bandar Baru 3G and 3E3 at Batu Kawah New Township are seeking Local Government and Community Development Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh’s intervention to allow them to continue trading there.
Their petition to Wong was submit ted through United People’s Party ( UPP) Batu Kawah branch chairman Pemanca Liu Thian Leong, in the presence of UPP Pending branch deputy chairman Leong Wei Ping.
In their petition, the traders claimed that due to unforeseen circumstances , Pad awan Municipal Council ( MPP) was pressured to ‘ relocate’ all of them to a nearby site and ‘ to- let’ an interested party to take over the management of the site.
The hawkers are currently trading under the permits issued by MPP to Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority ( Fama) and Triple S Enterprise, whom they said had served them well for the last six years since the commencement of the night market.
They claimed that despite their numerous objections, MPP still seemed not to understand their grievances and served them a notice to relocate to the new site
Most of us sell our own products which only can be sold for the most two days. If you ask us to sell for five days, we have nothing to sell.
A night hawker
within the next three months despite their appeals on Sept 4 last year.
“We have been trading here for the last six years and we are used to trading here. The price that we have to pay to trade in the new location wi l l be RM19 per day, which is about double of what we are currently paying. This is a burden to us.
“Besides that, we have to trade for a minimum of five days in a week compared to only two days that are Thursday and Friday now. Generally, the business is not really good for the second day.
“Furthermore, most of us sell our own products which only can be sold for the most two days. If you ask us to sell for five days, we have nothing to sell,” said one of the hawkers.
Meanwhi l e , Liu said he would bring the hawkers’ appeal to the attention of Wong, hoping that some sort of dialogue could be arranged so that an amicable solution could be reached.
“I also call upon the relevant authorities to look for a solution and not to implement something without the full consensus from the hawkers.”
Liu said UPP had no intention to blow up the matter but rather were there to facilitate dialogue between the hawkers, MPP and the management body.
MPP chairman Lo Khere Chiang was not available for comment at press-time.