Setapak traders fear drop in business as Utar relocates

Some of the business premises in Taman Bunga Raya that may be affected with the relocation of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman to Bandar Sungai Long. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Lavanya Lingan, June 1, 2015.

Once a quiet neighbourhood, Taman Bunga Raya, Setapak, in Kuala Lumpur, changed overnight into a vibrant university township when the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) campus was built near their housing area in 2004.

When students started moving in, residents took the opportunity to start new businesses and expand their existing businesses.

Restaurants, stationery shops, cyber cafes and telecommunication shops started mushrooming in the area.

The building of the Kuala Lumpur campus in Setapak was an economic boost for the residents for so long.

Unfortunately, the campus and its offices in Setapak and Section 13, Petaling Jaya, are relocating to Sungai Long, Kajang, Selangor, today.

Business owners are already feeling the pinch from the relocation exercise.

The owner of Restaurant Chin Huat, Lee Kwai Meng, said 30% of his customers were Utar students.

"The students are already moving out slowly and I can feel my business is not doing as well as it used to," he said when met recently.

Lee, who have been running his restaurant for the past 30 years said his business picked up after the Utar campus was opened, but, now, he is worried that his business would not be as profitable anymore.

The owner of Restaurant Chin Huat, Lee Kwai Meng, says his business is already slowing down. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Lavanya Lingan, June 1, 2015."We are lucky that the Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC) students are still around. The impact would not be as bad," he said.

Ang Lay Sim, who is managing a stationery shop in Taman Bunga Raya, said when the TARC students used to go for their semester breaks, she would still get business from Utar students.

But after today's relocation exercise, she is anticipating quite a big loss especially during semester breaks.

"It is going to be difficult after the relocation," she said.

P. Tamilarasan, the manager of a sundry shop in the area, said most of his customers were students and the business would definitely be affected.

"We were not prepared and the news of the relocation came as a shock to us. We have not seen any drop in the business yet, but we are definitely worried," he said.

A real-estate agent who wished to be known as Ting said the demand for houses was still high in the area despite the relocation exercise.

"I have not seen any drop in the demand. I don't think the demand here will decrease because this is now a prime area with many developments coming up," she said.

Utar, in a statement, said that the relocation to their City Campus in Bandar Sungai Long, would consolidate all Utar Klang Valley campuses to their new building.

"The new City Campus will provide a better learning environment for students where they will be able to network and mingle, making the campus a vibrant hub of activities.

"Staff and students of all faculties and divisions will work more closely together and activities and resources will be better utilised and coordinated," the statement said.

- TMI