The internet is boiling in anger after Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) had forcibly evicted seven elderly hawkers who were lawfully doing business at the corner of Jalan Tun Sambanthan, adjacent to the Kotumalai Pilayar restaurant in Little India.
DBKL officials had not only seized their stalls but also their merchandise at around 3am on 17 September.
Among the traders who lost their business was 52-year-old V. Alagi, a single mother who had just borrowed RM3,000 from a loan shark to pay for her daughter’s ACCA exam fees that was due on Tuesday (31 October).
According to Little India Petty Traders Association President G. Gunasegaran, city officials had evicted the hawkers due to a letter from the Prime Minister’s Department.
“I have doubts about the legality of the enforcement action by DBKL. Why all the secrecy and sneaking up at 3am?” he asked.
Moreover, these traders depended only on hawking for their livelihood and they were not informed beforehand about the eviction. It also occurred one month before Deepavali, when they could have earned more due to the festivities.
“I was told that DBKL wanted to turn the spot into a mini garden, but that does not make sense as the spot was originally built for the relocation of traders.”
“If they claim they were acting on a letter from the Prime Minister’s Department, then where is that letter? My requests to DBKL to see a copy was denied,” he said.
Another hawker, 70-year-old Ooi Ah Boi, has no choice but to currently work in a nearby hotel.
“They came at 3am and took all our things. I am now forced to work at a hotel nearby to pay my rent and hospital bills,” she said.
Similarly, 62-year-old Suria Gandi is now struggling to pay for his family’s expenses, including the tuition for his college-going children, after losing his stall.
“We have been jobless for almost two months with no way to earn money. This is unfair,” he said.
The hawkers were told that they would be relocated to the nearby Tun Sambanthan Complex, but they don’t want to go to that place as there are fewer buyers there.
The National Public Complaints and Welfare Service Centre (PAR) also condemned DBKL’s eviction of the elderly hawkers.
“The spot where the traders were operating was built for the purpose of relocating the traders. This was during the upgrading and beautification of the Little India project in 2009,” said PAR Chairman Datuk A. Chandrakumanan.
“I was there when negotiation for the Little India project took place and I have the blueprints to prove it.”
In fact, he pointed out that the spot was built for the seven hawkers, as they and their ancestors did business there for 40 years.
Moreover, the forced eviction of hawkers with valid business licence was questioned by Former Federal Territories minister Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin.
“The initial idea was to provide poor folk with a chance to earn a living, so it is odd that DBKL now wants to take it back and turn it into a garden.”
“Times are hard, DBKL needs to get its priorities straight. These people need their rice bowl and not a garden,” he added.
Meanwhile, a representative from city hall confirmed that they had ousted the hawkers due to a letter from the Prime Minister’s Department. But the officer refused to divulge its content or provide a copy.
Image sourced from The Star.
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