Strict, Consistent Enforcement Needed To Curb Unlicensed Foreign Traders

By Alyaa Natasha Azhar and Abdul Rahman Fahmi Abdul Aziz

KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (Bernama) -- The issue of foreign nationals abusing visitor and student visas to conduct business in Malaysia requires a holistic enforcement mechanism and tougher penalties to prevent repeat offences.

Coalition of Malay Hawkers and Petty Traders Associations of Malaysia (GPPPKMM) president Datuk Zainal Abidin Abdul Majid proposed stricter laws, including banning offenders from re-entering Malaysia for between five and 10 years, as well as imposing jail sentences.

“We need to look at a mechanism to prevent them from repeating the same offence. If their goods are confiscated, they can simply bring in new goods the next day. That does not stop them completely. Therefore, a mechanism to prevent them from repeatedly committing the same offence is crucial,” he told Bernama at Wisma Mutiara here yesterday.

Zainal Abidin said such comprehensive enforcement should be implemented alongside existing legal provisions, including the Registration of Businesses Act 1956 (Act 197), against foreign traders operating without permits.

He also proposed the establishment of a special integrated unit involving multiple agencies, such as the Immigration Department and local authorities (PBTs), to conduct continuous monitoring and patrols rather than carrying out enforcement operations only at specific times.

Zainal Abidin said failure to curb the issue would undermine the local hawker ecosystem, particularly when foreign traders trigger price wars.

“When there is a price war, they can sell at lower prices because they do not pay taxes, obtain permits or hire workers. As a result, they are willing to engage in price wars, and we (local traders) usually lose out in this kind of price competition,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Bernama check around the Pudu area, particularly along Jalan Silang, found that many business premises were operated by foreign nationals, including roadside hawkers.

Taxi driver Wahab Nasir, 71, said areas around Pudu Sentral have come to be known as ‘Bangla Town’ due to what he described as the greed of local owners who rent out their business lots, resulting in the area being dominated by foreign traders.

“What is puzzling is that despite rental rates reaching RM3,000 to RM4,000 a month, they are still able to survive for long periods even though they only sell low-cost goods,” he said.

“They have managed to create their own monopoly ecosystem, where the restaurants, grocery stores and even the customers are mostly from their own community,” said Wahab, who has been driving a taxi in the capital for 50 years.

Meanwhile, an employee of a local business in the area, Foh Loi Kian, 30, revealed that some foreign nationals had been exploiting business licences registered under Malaysian citizens to operate illegal stalls, a practice he said had been going on for a long time.

“The proliferation of foreign-operated stalls here has reduced our customer base because they offer much lower prices, while we have to bear high operating costs, including paying business taxes,” he said.

On June 8, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed concern over the growing number of foreign nationals who misuse visitor and student visas to conduct business in Malaysia, including in the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.

According to Anwar, such practices can have an adverse impact on employment opportunities for Malaysians.

-- BERNAMA