Traders want City Hall to cut licence costs, after drop in hawker lot rentals announced
NIGHT market traders are calling for Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to consider providing them discounts, after a 50% rental reduction was announced for hawker sites and selected premises under its management.
The initiative announced by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh, which takes effect from April 1 until December 2027, is to help traders cope with rising living costs.
It is expected to benefit more than 10,000 hawkers in Kuala Lumpur, while easing operating cost pressures faced by micro traders in the city.
Kuala Lumpur Night Market Management Association urged DBKL to consider similar relief for night market traders, through a reduction in annual licensing fees.
Its president Datuk Gulam Muszaffar Gulam Mustakim said nearly 10,000 night market traders across Kuala Lumpur faced similar cost pressures and should be included in the assistance.
“We would like to request DBKL consider a 50% discount on annual licence fees for night market traders, many of whom are from the B40 group,” he said in a media statement.
“The annual licence fee for each night market lot is RM104 a year, equivalent to RM2 a day for 52 weeks.
“Any reduction would provide much-needed relief for traders.”
Meanwhile, Kepong Baru Morning Market Traders Association advisor Yee Poh Ping highlighted operational issues that he hoped DBKL would address.
He said improvements were needed in the city’s hawker management system, particularly the online licence renewal process.
“The system sometimes encounters problems and traders then face difficulty renewing their licences online, while cash payments at counters are no longer accepted,” he said.
Yee also called on the authority to carry out physical upgrades at morning markets and pay better attention to cleanliness, to help traditional markets remain competitive against supermarkets and sundry shops.
“Morning markets today face strong competition,” he said.
“Improving facilities and the overall environment will help attract customers.”
Yee said while the rental reduction was a positive step, upgrading infrastructure, management systems and market conditions would provide longer-term benefits for both hawkers and the public.
Brickfields resident Dr Christopher Nicholas also urged authorities to ensure that the rental discount translated into fairer prices for consumers.
Citing growing concern that prices at licensed hawker stalls were approaching, or even exceeding, those charged by restaurants, he said: “Restaurants have significantly higher operating costs such as rent, air-conditioning and staffing.
“When hawker stalls with minimal overheads charge similar prices, it raises questions about profit margins and whether the public is truly benefitting from the lower operating costs.”
Nicholas suggested stricter monitoring under Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011, including regular audits of profit margins, mandatory price displays and a possible “fair pricing” certification for operators who maintained affordable rates.
