The Organisation of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs of Malaysia has called on the government to set up a special body to curb the flood of foreigners controlling business premises in the city.

Its president, Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, said the move was vital to ensure that local entrepreneurs would not be sidelined at their own turf.

He said with the special body in place, all complaints and reports could be addressed and proper solutions to the problem could be formulated.

"We are now seeing a flood of foreigners, particularly those from Indonesia and Bangladesh, in most business premises in the country, especially in Kuala Lumpur," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Mohd Ridzuan said local authorities should take immediate action to overcome the problem as it had not only affected medium-scale local entrepreneurs, but also the small-scale Malay hawkers, especially after the foreigners were also found to have operated their own stalls at Ramadan bazaars.

- Bernama