JOHOR BARU: Despite the rise in online shopping and the option to order food through mobile applications, night market or pasar malam remains popular among locals here, say business groups.
Johor Baru Trade Revolution Association vice-chairman Syed Mohd Ghazafi Abu Bakar said that while there was a dip in the number of visitors shortly after the Covid-19 pandemic, things have now gotten back to normal.
“In general, there is no significant drop in the number of visitors but it really depends on the location of the pasar malam and the weather.
“On rainy days, we will definitely see fewer people dropping by.
“However, that is not the case for other nights,” Syed Mohd Ghazafi said in an interview.
Syed Mohd Ghazafi, whose association organises three pasar malam around Johor Baru, added that a majority of visitors to these markets are locals.
“Although we have Singaporean visitors, a majority of our customers are still locals.
“Singaporeans would usually only affect the crowd size at Ramadan bazaars. For night markets, we are dependent on locals.”
He added that this is also the case for foreigners from other countries, regardless of whether they are here for work or vacation.
“As such, the pasar malam here remains the same over the years as they continue to cater to locals instead of foreigners,” he said.
Echoing a similar sentiment was South Johor Petty and Mobile Traders Association chairman Datuk Yow Boon Choon, who added that locals still enjoy visiting night markets.
“The only difference is that we are seeing more traders selling food now, be it local Chinese food, Japanese food or Taiwanese food.
“There is a significant drop in the number of traders selling other kind of goods such as clothes and shoes.
“However, when it comes to the size of the crowd or the people who typically visit night markets, it is pretty much the same,” he said.
However, that is not the case for a subset of night markets known as bazaar karat here.
Johor Baru Bazaar Karat Development and Welfare Association president Fuad Rahmat said that while bazaar karat and pasar malam are both markets organised at night, the markets sell different kinds of goods.
“Bazaar karat traders mainly sell dry goods like clothes, bags, shoes and similar items.
“There is not as much food there as pasar malam.
“On top of that, pasar malam is conducted once or twice a week, while bazaar karat is open daily.
“There has indeed been a significant drop in visitors to bazaar karat since earlier this year.
“Perhaps this is due to the rising popularity of online goods and inflation,” he said.
He added that the lack of parking, on top of competition with local malls, may also contribute to the drop in visitors.
“Most of our visitors are also locals. However, we do see an increase in Singaporean visitors during the festive and holiday seasons,” he said.
