We’ve heard a few stories of unruly street vendors lately, like the corn vendor that keeps popping up near KLCC. Young entrepreneur Amirul Hakim also recently took to Twitter to expose a group of vendors, which included locals and foreigners, for bullying and taunting other vendors in the Titiwangsa area.
In his Twitter thread, Amirul explained that he is a new entrepreneur who started a business in Titiwangsa. Within his first week of business, Amirul was intimidated by a group of “gangster” street vendors. According to Amirul, the vendors would even chase away new vendors – including himself – and impose seniority in the area. One of them is the owner of a purple Perodua car, who would use their vehicles to block other vendors. When Amirul asked about a business license, the vendor said they didn’t have one but were part of a WhatsApp group with other street vendors.
Amirul also called out an Indonesian woman who yelled at him when he confronted her about using a visitor’s parking space for her business. To his surprise, the woman argued, “I’ve been here even before the place got brought up!”. The last vendor Amirul mentioned was a food truck owner, who yelled at Amirul and even threatened to move his car. Besides bullying other vendors, Amirul said the group had also proudly claimed that they bribed the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for their business, which is illegal.
The young entrepreneur lodged a report to DBKL but decided to post on social media as he wasn’t getting a response. Amirul noted that Titiwangsa residents have also voiced frustrations towards the group for causing a nuisance in the area. The entrepreneur urged other visitors and vendors to be vigilant of the group.
Netizens have reacted to the Twitter thread, supporting Amirul and condemning the unruly street vendors. Many lament that the irresponsible vendors cause issues for visitors because they would take up parking space for their businesses. Some have even tagged DBKL, urging them to look into the vendors and their businesses. In response to the issue, DBKL said they would forward the issue to the related department for appropriate action. However, the response received more criticism as many netizens questioned why it took a viral post to get their attention.
Kudos to Amirul for stepping up against the unruly street vendors. We hope DBKL will handle this issue for the residents and visitors.
