Hawker livid over ‘double standard’ DBKL

Ahmad Rasheed Khan was evicted from his business site of 20 years but a newcomer is allowed to operate her stall at the same site.

KUALA LUMPUR: He has seven children, three of whom are in university and the rest in school. His only income comes from running a small foodstall in Taman Sri Sentosa here and he barely makes ends meet.

Previously, Ahmad Rasheed Khan Mohd Kassim, 54, operated a bigger and more profitable stall located opposite his current outlet. But this was torn down by the City Hall (DBKL) in 2003.

When he attempted to re-open the stall three years later, it was torn down again within days and the same reason was given – the stall sat on a pedestrian walk and posed a danger to the public, especially the blind residing in the area.

Left with no choice, Rasheed opened the smaller stall at a shoplot ramp.

As business was slow, Rasheed decided to apply for a license to operate at the old site again but his application was rejected by DBKL on numerous occasions.

However, Rasheed was shocked to discover a new stall operating at the old site last month.

“Whenever I see that stall, I feel like I am being stabbed in the heart. Words cannot describe the pain and anger I feel,” he lamented.

Speaking to FMT, Rasheed said the new stall was owned by a woman known only as Siti Mariam, whose workers had told him that they have a licence from DBKL.

“How can this be?” he asked. “They denied me a licence but gave her one.”

Accused of being a non-citizen

Adding salt to the injury, DBKL officers had seized several items, including the tables and chairs, from his current stall on Nov 16.

He had begged the officers to stop, saying that his application for a licence was pending at DBKL but his pleas went unheeded.

“When I told them about Siti Mariam’s stall, the officers replied that they knew what they were doing. In the end, only my stall was affected, not hers,” he added.

According to Rasheed, one of the officers even went to the extent of declaring the former as a non-citizen by writing it on the seizure notice and on one of his tables.

The hawker, who hails from Penang and posseses a valid MyKad, criticised DBKL for their double standards and called its officers inhumane.

“It took only days before DBKL demolished my old stall in 2006 but Siti Mariam’s stall is left intact. If they are operating illegally, DBKL should have seized their tables and chairs as well.

“But if they do have a license, how is it that DBKL rejected my application while allowing a new operator to do business there? I was there first,” he said.

Rasheed said that all he wanted was to have a license to operate his stall in order to feed his children.

“I’m not expecting handouts from the government. Just give me my license and I will earn a living,” he added.

Initially, he alleged, DBKL refused to return the items seized from his stall until he approached Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Deputy Minister M Saravanan’s aide R Nirmalan last month for assistance.

“Even then, some of the items were missing from DBKL’s store,” he said.

‘Friends in Umno and DBKL’

Meanwhile, a lorry driver, who resides in the area, said DBKL should have been fair to Rasheed by awarding him a license to operate at his old site.

“Although I am a personal friend of Siti Mariam, I believe DBKL has done a great injustice to Rasheed. He was there for 20 years.

“While Rasheed’s sole income comes from his stall, Siti Mariam’s family is rich and owns other businesses. They don’t depend on this stall,” said the driver, who requested anonymity.

He also claimed that Siti Mariam had close ties with those in Umno and DBKL.

Bukit Bintang MIC youth secretary and former Taman Sri Sentosa resident Yesu Samuel also believes that Rasheed should be given a licence.

“Everyone in the area knows Rasheed, he has been running a stall for a long time. Even I know him for more than a decade,” he said.

DBKL’s business facilitation and petty traders management deputy director Ibrahim Yusuf could not be reached for comment.