Shopowners in Brickfields opposed DBKL’s decision to grant licences to traders to set up stalls in front of their shops. — Filepic
Long ago, the Chinese who migrated to South-East Asia built towns, and many of their shophouses were two-storey buildings.
The ground floor was used for business and upper floor for residence. It was not only convenient but essential.
Decades ago, fat circular pillars were seen along the walkway of many shops.
Its core was made of brick and the plastered exterior inscribed with Chinese characters depicting the shop name.
Later, concrete reinforced with steel bars were used and the pillars were much slimmer but stronger, allowing these shophouses to be built taller.
Many four-storey shophouses and flats were built in urban areas.
Then, five-storey buildings became popular when the authorities raised the maximum height allowed for buildings without lifts.
The upper floors of shophouses were also used as offices, stores and enterprises.
Over the past decades, shophouses, their signboards and businesses defined the character of our cities and towns.
Quite a number of streets continue to attract huge numbers of pedestrians, although many prefer the convenience and comfort of air-conditioned shopping malls with sheltered parking facilities.
Many visitors to Kuala Lumpur look forward to visiting Chinatown, but most miss the shops completely as they merely walk along Petaling Street from one gateway to another, distracted by the street stalls lining both sides.
Most of these stalls manned by foreign workers sell the same things sold in street markets abroad, such as fake branded goods and imitation products.
These stalls obscure the many long-established shops in Petaling Street.
Chinatown is not limited to Petaling Street but encompasses the area where there are many traditional Chinese shops and businesses operating.
International visitors in-the-know also seek out attractions in other streets and lanes.
Sadly, many old but popular food stalls in the area were closed by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
However, City Hall has not been consistent in its policy.
While it has been overzealous in some areas of enforcement, it seems to favour street traders over legitimate shopkeepers.
When it granted Deepavali bazaar licences to outsiders to set up temporary stalls right in front of shophouses in Brickfields, about 50 shopowners, who are members of the Brickfields Business Community Society, were unhappy.
Especially so when they had earlier submitted applications requesting temporary licences to set up stalls in front of their own shops from Sept 20 to Oct 20.
(Note: The shopowners were later granted DBKL permission to host stalls in front of their shops while the outsiders were relocated.)
It is likely that outsiders would have sold the same things offered by the shops.
These roadside stalls would have also blocked access to the shops, as has been done in Petaling Street to the extent many visitors would not have been aware of shops behind selling more authentic items.
While street traders and hawkers should be given opportunities to earn a living, local authorities often seem to turn a blind eye to their transgressions until it is too late to uproot them from spots they have occupied for a long time.
An example can be found along Jalan 4/76 at Desa Pandan Kuala Lumpur. Despite several attempts, City Hall has failed to evict the street traders who have been operating their roadside stalls for many years.
And this is just one of the countless areas in the city where people are allowed to occupy public land to do business.
Another example is the unnamed road linking Jalan Cochrane to Jalan Perkasa next to the petrol station, which was built more than 20 years ago with a facility for vehicles to refill natural gas.
With many drivers converging there, temporary tents were erected by food stall operators.
Business was so good that the operators constructed permanent structures.
And like many roadside businesses, it is a mystery how they get their electricity and water supply.
As long as there is open cooking at “permanent” roadside stalls, Kuala Lumpur will remain a Third World city.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
