A number of petty traders associations are doubting Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) ability to manage all 65 Ramadan bazaars in the capital city next year without their assistance.
This was in response to a recent City Hall announcement that it would manage the evening food bazaars without help from the associations.
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In past years, the management of bazaars, including rental collection and allocation of trading lots, were handled by associations under DBKL’s supervision.
The associations held a press conference in Jalan Kuching to object to the move and called for an engagement session.
Gulam Muszaffar says there is a misconception that associations are over-profiting from traders.
Kuala Lumpur Night Market Management Association (PMKL) president Datuk Gulam Muszaffar Gulam Mustakim said there was a misconception that the associations were over-profiting from the traders.
“In the past, we usually charged between RM600 and RM900 per trading lot for Ramadan bazaars.
“However, we recently received reports from some traders claiming they have to pay up to RM1,000 to DBKL,” he said.
Gulam Muszaffar said the associations only charged a small fee for managing traders’ applications and ensuring orderliness and safety onsite.
Rosli asks if DBKL is equipped to handle the volume of applications to trade at Ramadan bazaars.
Federation of Hawkers and Traders Associations of Malaysia president Datuk Seri Rosli Sulaiman questioned if DBKL was equipped to handle the volume of applications to trade at Ramadan bazaars.
He estimated that some 4,500 traders would operate at 65 bazaar locations in Kuala Lumpur during Ramadan next year, which was expected to start on March 2.
He noted that some elderly traders struggled with DBKL’s online application system.
“There are also concerns regarding payment method.
“While the associations may accept instalment payments, DBKL usually requires a lump sum,” said Rosli.
This issue arose after DBKL announced on Oct 21 that it would begin managing Ramadan bazaars without going through middlemen.
This follows a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa in response to a Deepavali bazaar controversy in Brickfields, after a viral video showed several traders being upset that they were not allowed to operate at a site.
Dr Zaliha said checks revealed that the association in charge of managing the Deepavali bazaar had offered more lots than the number permitted by DBKL, which was 20.
“This is not the first time that such incidents have occurred, as similar situations have taken place during Ramadan in past years too.
“I have asked DBKL to take over the management of bazaars,” she had said.
To solve the Deepavali bazaar issue, DBKL said additional tents were allocated to accommodate the remaining traders who were initially left out.
