(From left) Yee and Kok at the shop sealed by DBKL.
A SHOPLOT owner in Kepong is losing months in potential rental as Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has not given permission for the shop to reopen after ordering its shutdown in August last year.
The shop was ordered to close on Aug 23 as the previous tenant — a barber — failed to renew his operating licence and had hired illegal foreign workers, in breach of Section 101(1)(v) of the Local Government Act 1976. The barber was also fined RM1,000.
The shoplot owner’s son, Kok Choong Poh said DBKL had not lifted the closure order despite the tenant paid the fine on Aug 25.
“After waiting for a few weeks without any news, I made several trips to the DBKL Enforcement Department to enquire about the status of my application to reopen the shop.
“I asked if there were any other documents that were needed.
“Initially, the officers said ‘no’ but on a subsequent trip, they requested me to submit a rental agreement and a letter of oath, which I did.
“A few weeks went by without any news. So I went to DBKL again.
“This time, they told me that they had lost the document and requested me to resubmit.”
He said that a week after resubmitting his application, they called him to say they could not find the documents.
“I was frustrated but I complied by submitting another one.
“On my most recent visit, DBKL told me that they were waiting for the department head to sign the form. They also told me that they had been busy moving offices,” he added.
Kok said his family had plans to renovate the shop before renting it out again.
“However, I have had to postpone the work because of the slow response from DBKL.”
He said there were potential tenants interested in renting the shoplot but he could not commit to any of them because of the delay from DBKL.
“We have lost four months of rent, which is more than RM6,000. I cannot afford to suffer any more losses,” he added.
Kepong community activist Yee Poh Ping expressed disappointment at DBKL’s inability to act promptly to approve Kok’s application.
“There should be a standard procedure with a given time frame as to when the owner can get the approval.
“This is jeopardising the owner’s income. It is especially critical in these tough times because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If there is anything else that is required, the property owner is more than happy to cooperate. But so far, there seems to be no progress at all from DBKL’s side,” he said.
Yee said he had written a complaint letter to DBKL and Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngah.
He added that if there was still no reply from the local authority soon, he would help Kok to get an appointment to speak to Mahadi.
