The recent relocation of Penang's most famous flea market - Lorong Kulit - to a carpark a few hundred meters away has allegedly led to squabbles between frustrated traders and Penang Municipal Council officers on duty.

Yesterday, a police inspector who requested anonymity confirmed that a trader has been detained in the Jalan Patani lock-up for purportedly wielding a parang at an officer on duty.

According to witnesses at the site, the fruit seller was angry when he was told by the officer to shift to another location not far away from where he was trading.

The trader had found it difficult to comply to the officer's request as he had already shifted twice over the past few days, albeit unhappily.

Tension is running high among traders and the authorities following the former's abrupt relocation from Lorong Kulit to Jalan Perak on Wednesday to facilitate the extension and improvement of the City Stadium which is situated next to the flea market.

Traders claimed their income has been slashed by 90 percent as there are not enough parking spaces for consumers, difficulties in transferring goods to their stalls and tension between fellow traders due to lack of space and comfort.

Memo to council

On Thursday, Lorong Kulit Traders Association chairperson Samsudin Osman submitted a memorandum to Penang Municipal Council officer Tan Heap Seng, urging the council to help the hawkers, public toilet and car park contractors who suffered massive loss of income due to the relocation exercise.

"Please help solve our problem and the current tense situation as council officers are unable to handle the matter," said Samsuddin.

The one-page document was submitted during a press conference held by the association, accompanied by state assemblypersons Lim Boon Chang (MCA-Datuk Keramat) and Lim Gim Soon (MCA-Kampong Kolam), MCA councillors Tan, Khoo Kay Hean and Khoo Gaik Tee, Keadilan state chief Dr Mansor Othman and deputy chief Cheah Kah Peng.

Dr Mansor and Cheah had earlier visited the new site, which they claimed were cramped, inconvenient for traders, hawkers and shoppers alike.

The Lorong Kulit flea market had its humble beginnings in late 1992 when the municipal council cleared out the secondhand goods dealers from Rope Walk, located off Penang Road in the town centre, where they had been trading by the roadside since the 1970s.

They were originally supposed to move to Cecil Street Ghaut but a few of them defied the authorities and moved to the City Stadium carpark, other traders began joining them and they have never looked back air.

When met at a dinner function in Penang, Council president Teng Hock Nam said that the relocation was merely temporary.

"Some sacrifices have to be made in order for development and renovation to take place, for example, at the City Stadium," he told malaysiakini.

"We are monitoring the situation and looking carefully into the inconveniences faced by the traders and hawkers," he added.

However, Teng, who is state executive councillor and Kebun Bunga state assemblyperson, said the traders requested to be shifted back to the original site may not be feasible.

Wants to meet CM

Meanwhile, 20 hawkers at the food complex in Lorong Kulit are seeking legal advice to resolve their financial woes due to the relocation exercise, which have resulted in almost zero consumers.

Speaking on their behalf, Cheah said the hawkers want to meet with Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon (right), Deputy Chief Minister Dr Hilmi Yahaya (left) and the councillor in charge of licensing Wong Mun Hoe to find an amicable way to solve their present problem.

Cheah said the hawkers who had set up an action committee, wanted a black-and-white assurance that the relocation is only temporary - between six to eight months - as promised by the council.

"They are also asking that their monthly fee of RM36 for the stall be waived due to loss of business as a result of the relocation," he told reporters at a press conference after chairing a dialogue session with the group in the food court.

"They also have the right to seek compensation for their unfortunate loss of income and we will help them do it," he added.