THE Chow Kit Market opened before Merdeka and now years past 2020, a new and modern wing will finally open for business.
What used to be a wet, narrow and dark warren of aisles will now be a bigger, brighter and cleaner wing for daily groceries of meat, vegetables and other staples.
Already, two stalls have opened in the meat section downstairs while sundry shops and kopitiams are up and running in the first floor accessible by escalators.
The RM177.5 million market located on Jalan Raja Bot is ready to house the 1,477 stalls and shops in stages over the next few years.
The 69-year-old market’s redevelopment was first announced under an initial allocation of RM200 million in 2011 by then deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.
The new multi-storey market complex, situated right beside the current market on Jalan Raja Bot, is expected to be completed in four phases.
This will include the wet market, dry market, utilities and an eight-storey car park with more than 500 parking bays.
Trader Clavin Tay, 42, who is a third-generation owner of a shop selling textiles and kitchen ware at the market, said he prefers doing business at the old site but is willing to move when his new shop is completed.
“My grandfather started the business here more than 40 years ago. I took over the business when I turned 20,” Tay said.
“The only issue I have is my customer base. Business is good here. My customers are familiar with this place and now we are moving to a new place.
“I’m not sure if it will be good for business. We also hope Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will reduce the rent by 50%.”
Another trader, Rizal Mohd Nor, 54, who runs a herbal goods stall, said he has been operating in the market for the last 35 years.
“I took over the shop from my late father. I’m the second-generation owner of this stall,” Rizal said.
“I still prefer it here as it is convenient for customers as I am located next to the main road.
“DBKL is insisting we move. Another issue is that the rent doesn’t meet the needs of the people here. If we can get a 70% discount, it will be good.”
Trader Chen Zhung Won, 55, who sells an assortment of plastic bags and other products, said he has been operating here since the 1980s.
“We are ready to move, but we hope we will still be able to pull in the customers,” Chen said.
“Here, the rent is cheap, while at the new premise, it is very expensive and the area looks small. So, we hope DBKL will give us a discount.”
In March 2023, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman said the project was expected to be completed by October 2025.
She said Phase 1 of the project was completed in 2016 while the main contractor for Phase 2 was terminated in 2021.
“In 2022, a new contractor was appointed. They will complete the remaining phases,” she said.
The project was initially scheduled for completion in 2017.
After many years, the market, established in 1955, will now be transformed into an iconic landmark in the city.
The beginnings of the Chow Kit wet market, when Kuala Lumpur was just a “town”, can be traced at the National Archives.
It was the brainchild of then Kuala Lumpur Town Council member Raja Muhamad Raja Alang in the early 1950s. The proposal was brought to the Kuala Lumpur Town Council’s financial meeting in May 1953 and its construction approved.
A sum of 350,000 Malayan dollars was allocated for the construction of 350 stalls, making it the largest market in the Federal Territories.
It was launched by the late Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj in 1955. – The Vibes, April 1, 2024.
