More thought, fairness needed in helping pop-up hawkers during pandemic

IT is a given that those struggling the most during this pandemic are in the B40 category. Many have lost their jobs. Many daily-wage workers are out in the lurch. The service sector is struggling.

The people in my township of Bandar Sri Damansara are not spared either. We see a sudden surge in the number of small entrepreneurs setting up businesses to supplement their income or just to survive.

More than 20 stalls have mushroomed around our township, Bandar Sri Damansara. The main roads and commercial areas are hit by these potential or would-be hawkers who want to sell various types of food and fruits.

I am sure this situation is not unique to Bandar Sri Damansara, an affluent town with sporadic low-cost flats in the fringes. During the movement control order (MCO) last year, a friend and I extended aid to more than 80 occupants of the Sri Cempaka flats by providing them daily food rations through the help of several generous individuals who donated graciously for the well-being of these people.

These pockets of people, constituting mainly Malays and Indians, are barely surviving. I am sure there are more people like them in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Klang, Puchong and Old Klang Road.

Other than unwelcoming visits by enforcement officers or local authorities in their trucks and vans, what is the long-term solution for these desperate folk?

My suggestion is that the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Klang Municipal Council and all the local authorities in the Klang Valley and other states sit down and discuss a long-term plan for these poor people.

Give them aid and provide a suitable location for them to hawk their wares instead of setting up their stalls along the busy roadside. This is a big risk, not only for hawkers but their customers, too.

MBPJ enforcement officers come by daily to forcefully shut them down.

There was an incident where, in the midst of the commotion with a kacang puteh seller, three bags of kacang puteh dropped on the road. Not only did the enforcement officers ban the trader from plying his business, but also helped themselves to the three bags. 

This was a sad incident indeed. Although I have since reported this to the mayor, no affirmative action has been taken to resolve the existing issue on hand.

Besides the kacang puteh seller, there is also a locksmith with the same dilemma. They have been trading for the past seven years in my township. 

Although they have diligently applied for their respective licences three times over the years, they have not received these licences till today. They have no choice but to continue with their business without the proper licence as they have mouths to feed and families to care for.

The local authorities should identify a suitable location and build a decent hawker centre, with proper water and electricity supply, good drainage and waste systems, proper toilets, and good parking facilities. This will certainly help poor hawkers find a better and cleaner place to sustain their income.

Rather than enforcement officers coming and terrorising traders, why not do a survey and provide feedback to the licensing department to issue them licences the soonest possible, rather than being an obstacle to the poor hawkers?

Perhaps the licensing department of all the local authorities could issue temporary hawking licences or permits for these traders, and then proceed to the processing of a more permanent licence.

DBKL, for instance, has waived the need for a business licence for hawkers.

I would also like to suggest that town councils and local authorities issue mobile (truck/motorcycle) hawking licences to these hawkers so that they can also find a decent living to sustain themselves.

The enforcement team must also be fair to all. In our township, there are some hawkers who have set up stalls and conducted their business illegally way before the MCO, yet no action has been taken against them, especially those along Persiaran Ara, Bandar Sri Damansara. 

It would also be good for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to check on the enforcement teams’ personal background and their actions on the ground.

It takes everyone to find a quick solution to this issue, which is fast becoming a dilemma for residents and other business operators who are also working to earn their salaries, pay their utility bills, yearly assessments and taxes. 

We cannot allow anyone to become a hawker by flouting the laws, then further allowing the law-abiding business community to suffer.

We need a concerted plan by the local authorities, town councils, the housing ministry, elected state assemblyman/politicians, MACC to find a quick solution to this issue. 

Let’s not ignore the woes of the poor rakyat. Covid-19 is an excellent case study for everyone to review our operations and work methods as part of the new normal.

If we can address the woes of the hawkers, this will automatically address the concerns of the poor and unemployed, too. There must be an approach to address their concerns. 

The local authorities cannot keep doing what they have been doing for the past years. New ways must be instituted to ensure the hawkers are free of this painful agony of running away from enforcement officers.

 We must systematically address this issue as eating at hawker stalls is a Malaysian culture. We cannot ignore hawkers anymore. 

They must be organised and must progressively grow their business. Hawkers, too, can contribute to our economy. I still remember the Syed Restaurant owner, who was just an ordinary teh tarik stall owner in Jalan Utara, right in front of former Thrifty Supermarket, Petaling Jaya. 

He is doing so well now with so many restaurants in the Klang Valley. Every hawker must envisage to grow like the Syed restaurant owner. He is an excellent example for everyone to emulate. – The Vibes, February 20, 2021