KUALA LUMPUR: Applications are now open for street traders who want to set up stalls in Lorong Tuanku Abdul Rahman from Sundays to Friday.
This is based on a flyer sighted by the New Straits Times.
While the flyer does not state when these traders would be allowed to set up their stalls in the business district, brick-and-mortar traders who have been engaged in an endless tussle with street traders in the area are having none of it.
Masjid India Business Association (MIBA) president Datuk Ameer Ali Mydin objected to the move, while stressing history would repeat itself if the authorities allowed traders to set up stalls in the area during the height of the pandemic.
"I don't know what they are trying to do. Seriously. They do not seem to be thinking this through.
"We warned them not to have Ramadan or Aidilfitri bazaars and others things because of Covid-19, but they went ahead and then closed them down. This doesn't help, so I hope they do not make the same mistake again," he told the NST.
Ameer said the National Security Council (NSC) had cleared the bazaars for operations earlier, and it now fell on the local authorities to enforce the standard operating procedures.
"We obviously know that the local authorities could not enforce the SOP and we are all back to square one. History will repeat itself if this too comes to pass," he said.
Ameer also said retailers in the oldest shopping district in Kuala Lumpur were already struggling to stay afloat after being hit by multiple movement restrictions even before the current lockdown; and now they have to put up with this new "threat".
He wondered whether those who came up with the idea had checked on when the MCO would end as it did not expire with the end of the first phase of lockdown on June 14.
"We will (likely) still have the MCO in place (after June 14) though some restrictions and some sectors will be likely be allowed to operate. It would be better for the government to allow crucial sectors such as night markets and such to operate instead during this time."
Sources from both the Federal Territories Ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall separately confirmed that the flyer bearing the ministry's logo was indeed issued.
"This is true, but you have to check on this directly with the ministry. City Hall only provides the place and permit," said a source from City Hall.
When contacted, Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, said he would be checking on the matter with City Hall.
"They have to follow the MCO SOP. However, this advertisement may just be for selection only. When they will be allowed to trade, it will depend on the NSC guidelines. Non-essential (trade, as such) cannot operate."
The flyer, among other things, mentions that applications are open to Malaysians aged 18 and above, with youths given preference. Business hours are set to be from 2pm to 10pm.
The flyer also spelled out that dried goods are welcomed to forgo on-the-spot cooking. It also mentioned that canopies would be provided under the initiative dubbed as a "youth entrepreneurs' programme" in the federal capital.