As the Kuala Lumpur Petty Traders Action Council prepares for its anti-Bersih protest on Thursday and Friday, it has put a price tag starting at RM2,000 for the lot in front of Ambiga Sreenevasan’s house.

NONE Other lots will be ‘sold’ at RM100 per stall, said Jamal Md Yunus, who heads the group.

He said the money will help cover the cost of organising the demonstration, intended to convey anger over the April 28 rally which purportedly resulted in petty traders incurring financial losses.

Wearing a yellow t-shirt with the words ‘Bersih 4.0', Jamal was spotted in front of Ambiga’s house today.

He was there to mark out lots on the road for the stalls, for the protest dubbed ‘Bersih 4.0 - cleaning up Bersih 1, 2, 3'.

"The traders can sell any item, including food and drinks, from 3.30-8pm over the two days.

NONE "We hope the traders will get returns of between RM300 and RM500 a day,” said Jamal.

    

Reiterating that the group will apply to Kuala Lumpur City Hall for a trading permit, he said the protest will be carried out even if this is not issued.

This is because Bersih itself had proceeded with its rally without approval from the authorities, he noted.

Tit-for-tat

The council, which represents 60 traders, further plans to continue converging in front of Ambiga's house in Damansara even after the demonstration, until Bersih responds to their claim, he added.

"By Thursday and Friday, should there be no response from anyone on who is responsible for our losses due to Bersih 1, 2 and 3, we will kampung (camp) here.

"We will pitch tents and sleep here. We want answers."

NONE Jamal said the message of the Bersih 4.0 market is to tell the public not to jeopardise the livelihood of the traders.

"Don't stop us from making a living. If you want to protest, do it in a suitable venue, such as a stadium.

"If you disturb others, others will disturb you," said Jamal, who is best known as the owner of the Sekinchan Ikan Bakar chain and luxury car dealership IBM Automobiles Sdn Bhd.

Speaking to Malaysiakini earlier, Ambiga described the petty traders act as a form of intimidation .

“The most interesting thing is - they (the traders) have yet to state their claims on their losses and their details,” said Ambiga, who had told the earlier group to take their claim to court.

She urged members of the public not to be distracted from Bersih’s goals to achieve clean and fair elections.

“The question remains whether we are going into the 13th general election without meaningful reforms to the system,” she said.

At 8.30pm, DBKL and police personnel were spotted in the vicinity. It is understood that DBKL will document the painting on the road before repainting it.

Additional reporting by S Pathmawathy.

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