Tuesday, March 3, 2009
the malaysian model
I'm not endorsing every detail of the project, but the Kuala Lumpur government has come up with a plan to work with hawkers and street sellers to create better conditions in the city. The Star has details.
The street vendors seem genuinely pleased. "We have been wanting this for a long time and we we see it as a moral victory," Federal Territories Malay Hawkers & Small Traders Association president Bahrin A. Razak said. "It is no easy task managing hawkers, especially when one has to deal with some 80,000 hawkers – both legal and illegal – and that’s not counting the assistants and cooks." Indian Petty Traders Association Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya president Jothy Appalasamy said the move would bring order to an already chaotic situation in the city. "It is a moral boost for us as shoppers are not the only ones who want to shop in nice and comfortable conditions, but hawkers like to do business in comfortable conditions too," Jothy said.