Johor to withdraw, revoke traders' licences given out to third parties

KLUANG - The Johor government will withdraw and subsequently revoke licences of traders who give out their licences to third parties, including foreign nationals, to conduct business.

State Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said this stern warning includes business licences for hawkers and non-risky business licences.

He said the withdrawal of the licences and subsequently revoking them by the local authorities (PBT) will be implemented immediately if it is found that the owners of both types of licences are not running the businesses themselves.

"The same action will be taken on those who not only allow foreign nationals to use their licences to conduct business but also on those who allow locals to conduct business using their licences. They (traders) should be self-employed.

"We actually have not issued both types of licences to foreign nationals and if they (foreign nationals) are found to be conducting business at morning markets or night markets, the public can lodge a complaint with the PBT," he told reporters here today.

Mohd Jafni told reporters after the Johor PBT Licence Sector Empowerment launching ceremony at Dewan Tunku Ibrahim Ismail here.

Earlier, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had said that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will withdraw business licences of hawkers who give out their licences to third parties including foreign nationals.

He said his team as well as the relevant PBT are devising a method to ensure that the regulation is followed, in order to ensure that it benefits local traders.

Meanwhile, Mohd Jafni said through 16 PBTs in the state, the maximum duration for seeking approvals for both types of licences will be shortened to help traders to conduct their businesses.

"Prior to this, approval of licences would take around 30 to 60 working days. However, after this, approvals would only take 24 hours or one working day.

"We will also simplify other matters such as reducing the number of application documents from nine to three only as well as reducing the 13 conditions to only three," he added. - Bernama