Petaling Street losing its charm

NO LONGER AUTHENTIC: Tourists hoping to enjoy an authentic Malaysian experience might be disappointed by the heavy presence of foreign workers — Pic: Shahir Omar

KUALA LUMPUR: An open-ended problem with no immediate solution in sight.

This is the present state of affairs plaguing Petaling Street which has lost its charm, no thanks to foreigners who have invaded the area.

Despite an improvement in infrastructure and traffic flow in the Chinese heritage area over the years, the lack of local presence provides little charm to a locality that has often been dubbed a bargain-hunter’s paradise.

In 2009, Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Ahmad Fuad Ismail announced that City Hall, along with the Immigration Department, the Police and the National Registration Department, was serious about getting rid of illegal foreign traders and stall assistants in the city.

He said the image of Petaling Street would be boosted if traders hired Malaysians.

That solution was simple. Get rid of your foreign helper or lose your trading licence.

The June 1, 2009 deadlineto purge foreign helpers was not only mooted by the authorities but even lauded by the Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association, which was adamant about preserving the Chinese identity of the area.

Fast-forward, two years later, and the situation remains at square one as foreign stall helpers still outnumber Malaysians.

There are 773 stalls, but a brief walkabout in the area will reveal that eight out of 10 stalls are manned by Bangladeshi, Myanmar or Indonesians. These were the findings of The Malay Mail, recently.

Traders continue to bend the law and hire foreigners claiming that Malaysians were not interested in taking up the jobs.

Immigration laws only allow foreigners to work in restaurants and plantations, not as helpers in hawker stalls. Even City Hall’s wholesale market and hawker bylaws do not permit traders to hire foreigners.

Kuala Lumpur Hawkers and Petty Traders Association vice-president Datuk Ang Say Tee said it was difficult to attract Malaysians to work there.

“It is not an easy job. Traders work for long hours, a minimum of 10 hours a day, and on weekends, too,” he said.

Ang said it was embarrassing as tourists who visit Petaling Street with the hope of immersing themselves in an authentic Malaysian experience find themselves being tended to foreigners.

Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Loon said meager wages were keeping Malaysian youths from working at the tourist spot.

“Malaysians are not attracted by the wages earned from trading there although they are able to earn between RM1,500 and RM2,000,” he said.

However, when The Malay Mail visited the area to speak to hawkers, some of them said Malaysian youths were keeping away from working there because of the uncomfortable working conditions (see accompanying story).

Fong also said there were indigenous people from Sabah and Sarawak working at the stalls, who might be mistaken for foreigners.

“But there are some traders who do not abide by the ban and continue employing foreigners,” he said.

He said enforcement was the key to eliminate the problem.

The lack of enforcement in the area is one of the reasons this longstanding problem is still not solved.

“The authorities have been infrequent in enforcement action. The last major operation was conducted two years ago,” Fong said.