Last year, V Thalagaraja, 45, was ordered by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to vacate the site of his roadside food stall in Jinjang Selatan that he had operated for nearly 20 years.

The city authorities, he was told, had plans to expand the road.

Moving his licensed business to Taman Cuepacs, Segambut in July last year, Thalagaraja obtained a fresh annual permit in December to operate his business at the new location.

warong issues In January this year, however, DBKL notified him that the permit had been revoked and that he will have to move out by Sunday.

Despite pleading with the officers, Thalagaraja said DBKL has remained adamant that he has to vacate the site. It has instead offered him the alternative of operating from any of the food courts throughout the city.

"The reason for its action, I was told, is that one orang kaya (rich man) in this place did not like the sight of my stall in his neighbourhood. The DBKL officers are just following orders in revoking my permit," Thalagaraja said.

"If that orang kaya considers my stall an eyesore, then why doesn’t he go live some place like Genting Highlands!"

He also lamented that having been denied compensation for leaving his previous site - and loyal customers - in Jinjang, he is now faced with having to demolish his current stall that had cost RM15,000 to build.

He paid for it from his meagre savings and by pawning some family jewellery, said Thalagaraja.

warong issues 281108 "DBKL officers had themselves come here. They inspected and approved this location and gave me a licence to operate my business. Now, I have been told that the licence has been cancelled and I have to move yet again," he said in frustration.

"Who is going to compensate me for the RM15,000? We have no more jewellery left to pawn. How will I take care of my wife and four school-going children?"

While he used to earn about RM1,600 monthly in Jinjang, Thilagaraja said he now earns about RM1,000.

He is confident of building up the business, since units in nearby low- and medium-cost flats are now being occupied.

The DBKL officer in charge of approving - and subsequently cancelling - Thalagaraja’s permit did not return calls to his office.

'Tip of the iceberg'

Commenting on the issue, Malaysian Indian Business Association president P Sivakumar said Thalagaraja’s plight represents merely the tip of the iceberg for small business operators.

He pointed out that people like Thalagaraja cannot afford to risk their meagre capital in places like food courts if they do not have support from the authorities.

This is in terms of the cost of renovating and setting up a stall, to invest in workers to prepare the food and man the stall, as well as having to meet prohibitive rental charges and overhead costs.

p sivakumar "Even after all this has been considered, can anyone guarantee that business will be viable enough for Thalagaraja to make a profit? Will assistance be extended to him should his venture fail?" he asked.

"There are many people like Thalagaraja who need help but are somehow overlooked (by the government, credit agencies and banks). These are people who merely want to carry on their business and provide for their families, but they need to be given support.

"Having destroyed his earnings, DBKL has not compensated him for the stall (in Jinjang) or for taking him away from his customer base. Where is he to go to now? Who will he turn to for help - the Ah Long (loan sharks)?"

Sivakumar said commercial banks should be more pro-active in publicising their micro-credit schemes to small business operators, citing the example of a seminar organised recently by one bank.

"Since the seminar, we having been receiving endless calls from people wanting to find out how they can get funds. This shows the large number of Malaysians who are seeking help to upgrade their quality of life," he added.