KUALA LUMPUR: Night market traders in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR) are in for a nightmare.
They are bracing themselves for the substantial losses they would incur, in the wake of the proposed illegal rally on Saturday, in as far as spoilt food and drinks and unsold goods are taken into account.
They should know best. Experiences with similar illegal assemblies and street demonstrations in the past have been bitter lessons.
Their businesses took a severe beating, noted Lorong TAR Traders and Hawkers chairman Che Kamarudin Ibrahim.
“We are against any form of demonstration, organised by any group.
“The 1998 and 2007 experiences (with illegal rallies and assemblies) have affected us enough,” he said when met by Bernama at a traders site in Jalan TAR here last Sunday night.
The 2007 illegal assembly recorded about RM500,000 in losses and affected 550 traders here, despite having been monitored by the police and local authorities, he said.
“This is a public place, do not make trouble. The traders are the ones who will suffer, caught between the protesters and the police.
“It (illegal rally) would also tarnish the country’s image as countless tourists frequent the place,” added Che Kamarudin, stressing that the traders would stand firm and continue their businesses as usual on Saturday.
A Bernama survey of the vicinity of Jalan TAR found other traders sharing similar anxieties.
Memories of past demonstrations were still fresh and they hoped history would not repeat itself.
“Just imagine, I had to throw away almost all my ‘kuih’ because they were not sold,” said Miston Tan, 48, recalling the 2007 street protests. — Bernama
Fearing for the safety of his family and to prevent similar losses, he will not open his stall on the day.
“I feel there is no such thing as peaceful demonstration, it will be chaos. It is about to happen a third time,” he said, surrounded by his children who were helping out at the stall.
Rashid Yunus, 39, who is solely dependent on income from his fruit stall at a market, is unsure if he would open for business.
“In my opinion, there is nothing positive about these assemblies.
In fact, the government would suffer losses and damage to public property, and we will not be compensated for our losses when the situation gets out of control,” he said.
Rashid recalled how clothes, food and other goods were damaged when the authorities had to use water cannons to spray on unruly protesters to diffuse a situation.
Textile trader Azmi Ahmad, 50, said there was no way the illegal assembly would be peaceful as claimed by the organisers.
“It had turned ugly twice before,” he said, hoping the organisers and the government would find an alternative way to resolve issues.
Ahmad Affandi, 28, another textile trader, said it (illegal rally) would only cause harm to all concerned.
“This is a place where people bring their families, shop and relax during the weekend. There will be children, tourists and even couples shopping for their wedding or similar happy events … just think about it,” he said. — Bernama