MyKiosk, an expensive, inefficient project or a lifeline for small traders?

 

PEOPLE who go hunting for street food often will invariably come across these white and red, checkered kiosks lying about designated public spaces. These are no other than the output from the MyKiosk initiative by the Minister of Housing and local Government Nga Kor Ming.

They look crisp and neat in the sun or rain, however, the MyKiosk project has been pointed out as a failure by some people for quite some time. Even recently, there have been reports that these MyKiosks are underutilised.

A post on X by @kosmo_online highlights this issue in stark detail and has since garnered the following of numerous netizens.

According to netizen @hcsoon, the problem was that people are not allowed to cook inside the kiosk, and that these were only used to display ready to eat meals.

“Finally, the suppliers will get fat. Need to check who got this contract. They simply put it and don’t think about the practicality,” added @N_Najdi_. Then there were a number of netizens pointing out that these kiosks are actually occupied. Sadly, these occupiers do not do business with it.

Take it from @cikpanda90 who checked about the empty kiosks with the relevant authorities only to find out that they had all been taken.

Also, @nhysf96 noted the numerous kiosks which were abandoned in Setia Alam.

“How are they not abandoned? The place is not strategic. There is no parking,” said @deadend678.

Supporting their comments were @haepride, who added that it was the same situation here in Perak, such as Ipoh, Kampar and Tapah. Only @kitsunekhai opined that the kiosks in his area were occupied.

In his defense, Nga Kor Ming said in July last year that the programme has successfully benefited and changed the fate of more than 7,000 hawker families and small traders nationwide.

“In line with KPKT’s commitment to continuous improvement based on trader feedback, MyKiosk 2.0 has been redesigned and upgraded with various specifications that are more environmentally sustainable and equipped with safer and more comfortable facilities to use without any increase in rental prices,” he reportedly told Berita RTM.

According to Nga, as of July 2025, the occupancy rate for MyKiosk@KPKT (2023) is 2,926 units (91.75%), while MyKiosk 2.0 (2024) recorded an occupancy of 3,518 units (86.78%). —Focus Malaysia