Foreigners take over Klang alleys

THE backlanes of several streets in North Klang have become popular business spots for foreigners.

So much so that these backlanes have even been labelled as Nepal Street, Myanmar Street and Indonesian Street by local traders, who are facing stiff competition from the foreigners.

“We call Lorong Batu Tiga Lama Nepal Street because this lane is popular with the Nepalese.

“Lorong Kepayang is popular among the Indonesians while those from Myanmar have taken control of some parts of Lorong Pos Baru,” a local trader who declined to be named said.

Hanging out: A group of foreigners seen loitering around a store front with advertising banners in foreign languages.

A visit to the area following tip offs from the public showed that the alleys around the North Klang bus terminal and Plaza MPK have been conquered by foreign traders.

The streets are also heavily populated by foreigners during the weekends and public holidays.

An open plot of land at Jalan Kepayang has even been fully occupied by Indonesian traders who operate food businesses with about 10 stalls selling both Indonesian and local fare.

The stalls were built illegally and the land belong to private owners.

Besides the food businesses, there were also many jamu (herbal products) shops operating around these areas. These shops receive a lot of interest from local customers as well as foreigners.

Food from home: The open plot of land at Jalan Kepayang now houses various stalls specialising in Indonesian food.

At Lorong Batu Tiga Lama, there were a number of shops selling VCDs and bags that were operated by Nepalese traders.

Besides the retail shops, there were also several outlets offering money transfer services to the various countries.

Several well-known licensed money transfer outlets were among the many outlets offering the service.

Klang Municipal Council president Mislan Tugiu said the council was aware of the activities and was in the process of taking action against the illegal traders.

He said the council faced several challenges in dealing with the issue.

“We have a technical problem since the shops and the land are being rented out by locals.

“The public can rest assured that we will be carrying out a clean up soon to weed out illegal businesses operated by the foreigners,” he said.

Source :http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2010/3/11/central/5805193&sec=central