DESPITE Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) offering a new location to 65 traders in Taman Puncak Jalil, Selangor, many of them were found to have returned to their original sites.
The traders had been offered 70 trading lots and 18 kiosks in Jalan PUJ 3/3 and PUJ 3/7 but they still prefer to operate along Jalan PUJ 3/1, PUJ 3/9 and PUJ 3/13, said MBSJ in a statement.
MBSJ was responding to media reports on the plight of the Puncak Jalil traders.
They had claimed that MBSJ’s decision to relocate them to a site behind a row of shops in Puncak Jalil last June had affected their income and jeopardised their safety and health.
They said they tried operating at the new location for a while but found it was surrounded by bushes and foul-smelling dumpsites. They also found the lanes there were too narrow.
The traders said they preferred to pay MBSJ fines twice a month as they had better business at their original locations.
Last December, MBSJ held a meeting with Puncak Jalil Traders Association as well as affected traders on the matter.
The association had requested to continue operating at their original locations.
However, MBSJ decided not to grant their request for temporary permits to trade on Jalan PUJ3/9 and PUJ3/13 in January.
They were only granted permits for sites in Jalan PUJ3/3 and PUJ3/7.
MBSJ said this was due to various issues concerning safety, traffic congestion, parking and cleanliness at the original sites.
The city council sent a letter to association chairman Muhammad Amir Ali in February informing him of the decision.
Last year, MBSJ issued 77 compound notices to the traders for obstructing public spaces and trading without a licence.
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