KL wholesale market traders object to the addition of new blocks

KUALA LUMPUR - More than 400 traders objected to a private company's proposal to build an additional block within the Kuala Lumpur Wholesale Market (PBKL) area.

The dealer's representative, Sing Kian Hock, said that a protest petition had been collected and submitted to Batu Member of Parliament, P Prabakaran to be forwarded to the relevant parties.

According to him, the project proposed to be built on a parking lot capable of accommodating up to 300 traders will have an impact on existing traders.

"The existing buildings are sufficient to accommodate the traders' operations. The bad economy after the Covid-19 pandemic will affect the traders if the project goes ahead.

"We not only have to face the issue of foreign hawkers outside PBKL but also have to compete with traders in the new block as well which will eventually cause more existing traders to go out of business," he said while joining the protest at Pasar Borong Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.

He said the RM150 million project was submitted by a private company to develop the market building around 2021.

"When market operations are privatised, it will cause many problems, especially the increase in rental prices and many more.

"There is also a question as to why the proposal was only offered to one company, it should be necessary to make it an open tender to choose a company that deserves it," he said.

In the meantime, Prabakaran said, the petition will be submitted to the Kuala Lumpur Mayor on Wednesday

Prabakaran said that he had asked DBKL to review any development proposal before approval to avoid problems in the future.

"The history of this market has been 27 years and those who do business here have experience. Any development proposal from the developer needs to go through a discussion with the traders first

"As a member of Parliament, I was also not informed of the proposal and only found out about it during an engagement session between developers and traders a few months ago," he said.

He added that DBKL needs to meet and discuss with traders and associations to ensure that the project benefits both parties.