Shutters down in Brickfields for an hour tomorrow

The Brickfields business community says this is in protest at the sudden change in the flow of traffic along Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

KUALA LUMPUR: The business community of Brickfields is up in arms against the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for adding more confusion by changing the traffic flow along Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

Traders here are fed up with DBKL for turning part of Jalan Tun Sambanthan into a contra-flow lane without warning on Dec 1.

And to show their anger and frustration, businessess in Brickfields will shut down in protest for one hour tomorrow.

Little India Action Committee (LIAC) chairman S Pathavachalam said that the traffic flow change was one among many creating heavy congestion in the area, chasing away customers as a result.

“They have never consulted the business community in this matter,” the local businessman told a press conference, referring to the Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Ministry.

Pathavachalam added that more than 300 businesses were expected to close down their shops from 11am to 12pm tomorrow.

He was accompanied by Lembah Pantai MP (PKR) Nurul Izzah Anwar, and several other businessmen.

The contra-flow change only allow buses and taxis to pass through part of the one-way Jalan Tun Sambanthan from 6am to 8pm everyday. Buses would not be allowed to turn into Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad.

Claiming that locals here were not informed of the changes, Pathavachalam said that many – including hundreds at the Malaysian Association for the Blind (MAB), and schoolchildren – were put at risk.

“We’re not against anyone, but we want to show our grievances… If DBKL doesn’t take action, then we will do it for more hours the next time, like half-a-day,” he said.

Improper planning

Targeting FT Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin and his deputy M Saravanan, Nurul accused the DBKL of improper traffic planning in the area.

The lack of warning given to people here, she said, resulted in traffic accidents taking place.

“In any traffic dispersal plan, the needs of the locals need to be taken into account. But the needs of the people of Brickfields have been cast aside, at what cost?” she said.

Nurul also pointed out that five traffic accidents had happened in the 48 hours following the changes.

She then demanded that the government bring in an independent traffic dispersal expert to find a solution over the matter.

“We need a short-term solution because right now, (the situation) is not tenable,” she said.

Speaking to FMT, some of the traders have claimed that they have suffered as much as a 70% drop in revenue.

They attributed this to the transformation of Brickfields into Little India, a development undertaken by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) in mid-2010.