CITY and local councils must have a specific plan before they embark on any project to beautify, upgrade or build new hawker centres, stalls or kiosks, operators said.

The Malaysian Federation of Hawkers and Traders Association president Rosli Sulaiman said discussions must be held with stakeholders to get a better view on what needs to be done.

“Any upgrading work should be done with the association’s input.

“We want the city council to have discussions with us and not simply just build, upgrade or place the stalls in non-strategic areas. This will not benefit us,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

There are about 1.8 million registered hawkers and traders nationwide.

On February 24, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in tabling Budget 2023, had announced an allocation of RM50 million to build new and upgrade 3,000 stalls and kiosks for hawkers and petty traders to do business nationwide.

Rosli said areas in need of an upgrade are Pasar Pudu, which was built in 1957.

“Pasar Pudu must be upgraded as it is very old. There is also the redevelopment project of Chow Kit market, which has been delayed for almost 10 years.

“We also want kiosks to be built for 143 traders in Jalan Masjid India.

“They were operating at the bazaar, but it has since burned down and now they are placed at alleyways around the area where there are no customers.

“We suggest Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) build kiosks for the traders on both sides of Jalan Masjid India, just like in Petaling Street with a dome.”

As for the allocation, Rosli said there must be a proper mechanism to disburse the funds.

He said the association will be calling for an engagement with the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry and Kuala Lumpur mayor in the next three weeks.

Meanwhile, Bumiputera Petty Traders Association president Mohd Baba Kutty welcomed the allocation, but said the funds are not really sufficient to upgrade the stalls nationwide.

“Even RM50 million for Kuala Lumpur is not enough. But we welcome it.”

He, however, said before any project is implemented, DBKL needs specific ideas or proposals on the kind of upgrades that need to be taken.

“Only then can the funds be disbursed accordingly. If they (DBKL) are just going to do patch-up work then it is not an upgrade, but a waste of money.

“We can see many food courts built in non-strategic locations and they get few or no customers. So, they must have an idea on what needs to be upgraded or built.

“Especially in the big towns like Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. They (city councils) must have specific designs and allocation on what they want to build.”

Baba also said it was crucial the councils discuss with the associations on what they need.

“If the councils are going to build new food courts, then they have to inform the hawkers about relocation, conduct feasibility studies and place them in areas where there are customers.

“Also, how will the budget be disbursed?”

Baba said he had sent a courtesy letter congratulating new mayor Kamarulzaman Mat Salleh and hopes to meet him soon. – April 27, 2023.