A voting session held by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to select new members for the Taman Overseas Union Garden (OUG) morning market association turned chaotic when a group of traders arrived and began shouting.
More than 50 traders gathered at the entrance of the Market Place OUG building on Tuesday (Aug 22) with banners to protest the election of new committee members.
They expressed their dissatisfaction with what they perceive as “outside interference” from DBKL and the Seputeh MP’s office, accusing them of excluding longstanding members.
The protesting traders alleged that a new group of traders operating at the market is attempting to gain control of the market’s management.
“We are unhappy with the interference from DBKL and the MP’s office,” stated spokesperson David Choy, speaking on behalf of the current association’s management.
Choy acknowledged complaints about congestion, poor waste management, and conflicts between rival trader groups but expressed unhappiness that DBKL and the MP’s office were advocating for the election of new members.
“We have been here for 20 to 30 years. We are not pleased that there are newcomers who are not active members,” said one trader, identified as Wan.
“You don’t see them every day, they come and go.”
Wan also claimed that due to the presence of newcomers, her number of stall lots had decreased from three to one.
Another trader, who wished to remain anonymous, disclosed having sold clothes at the market for 30 years but having their lots reduced from six to three.
The group also alleged that some traders “suddenly appeared” and took over trading spots belonging to others.
A jackfruit trader named Tan stated that this happened to him.
“One day, my spot was taken by an outsider. The lady was very apologetic and informed me she had paid DBKL RM3,000 for the lot,” Tan explained, adding that they had reported the incident to the MACC.
During the voting process, the veteran traders argued that new traders who are not active should not have the right to vote.
A relatively new trader who started operating two years ago, going by the name Ah Choy, expressed support for the election of new members in any organization.
“These old timers have been here for so long. They don’t realize that change can be good.
If they don’t like the new members, they can vote again – or even better – become a candidate in the next election,” Ah Choy suggested.
A contest is being held for the positions of chairman, vice-chairman, treasurer, secretary, and three committee members, with the meeting still ongoing at the time of reporting.
When contacted, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok commented that the current management committee had been in operation for 20 years.
“It is always healthy to conduct an election process to bring in new ideas instead of allowing one group to have a monopoly,” she stated.
Meanwhile, a DBKL officer overseeing the election session stated that appointing new association members was done to streamline and reorganize lots at the market.
Credit: The Star : Metro Feed
