Why the hurry to demolish, Mr Mayor?

The minister has given an assurance that the TTDI wet market will not be demolished for now, but the mayor appears to be singing a different tune. Vexed traders demand an answer.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) Traders Association has questioned the City Hall’s (DBKL) stand over the wet market in the neighbourhood.

Despite an assurance from Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Minister Raja Nong Chik Zainal Abidin that the premises would not be demolished for now, DBKL however continued to harp on the issue.

In view of this, the association’s adviser Ramli Ismail called on Mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail to clear the air.

Speaking at a press conference here, he said the TTDI market was the first modern market built in the country to replace the Central Market in the 1980s.

Central Market was one of the oldest wet markets in the country but when it was classified as a heritage site, the wet market shifted to TTDI.

City Hall had slated the market for demolition in order to make way for the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) project.

Ramli said that several members from the association had visited the MRT information centre recently and discovered that the project would not affect the market.

“The project is being carried out far away from here,” he said, flanked by DAP’s Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng and the association’s chairperson Jenny Loo.

Ramli said he was puzzled why the mayor was asking the traders to vacate the market when it was not standing in the way of the MRT project.

“We want to know why Fuad is so eager to evict the traders,” he said.

Contradictory statement

Meanwhile, Lim criticised the mayor for issuing a statement which was contradictory to that of the minister’s

He was referring to a Feb 14 news report which quoted Fuad as saying that the majority of traders had agreed to vacate the market and the TTDI residents’ association also gave the green light.

“This contradict’s Raja Nong Chik’s statement that the demolition would be put on hold for now,” said the DAP MP.

“When a minister has given an assurance, why is the mayor in a hurry to demolish the building?” he asked.

Lim also clarified that the majority of the residents’ association members were against the proposed demolition of the market.