Kuala Lumpur (The Star/ANN) - Malaysian international trade officers stationed overseas will be assessing the damage to investor confidence from the Bersih 2.0 rally on Saturday.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Mukhriz Mahathir said his ministry would be prepared to field queries from investors on the country's political stability.
"I am expecting reports from my officers overseas to see how much damage control needs to be done," he said during a Students In Free Enterprise World Cup 2011 event here.
Mukhriz said he could not yet say how much the country lost or stood to lose in foreign investments as "reports were still coming in".
"But I hope it won't be too bad," he said.
The Bersih 2.0 rally saw supporters of opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition braving police restrictions, roadblocks and barbed wire to gather in the city centre calling on the Government to institute electoral reform.
Their eight-point demand included issues that the opposition had been campaigning on for many years, like a clean electoral roll, reforming postal voting and a minimum of 21 days for campaigning.
Traders now want Bersih 2.0 chairman S. Ambiga to take responsibility for the 300mil ringgit (US$99.3mil) in turnover "meltdown" from the rally in Kuala Lumpur.
Federal Territory Malay Hawkers and Small Traders Organisation president Bahraim A. Razak said Ambiga should take responsibility for all the losses.
"We may not be able to take legal action against Bersih 2.0 because it is not a registered body. But we are contemplating action against Ambiga," he said, adding that the average daily turnover for businesses in Kuala Lumpur was about 300mil ringgit.
"The estimated losses for perishable and non-perishable goods for the day was about 90mil ringgit," he said, adding that some 800 hawkers lost earnings of between 200 ringgit and 500 ringgit each while shop operators lost 4mil ringgit.
"The worst hit were those dealing with perishable items like chicken, pork and vegetables," he said, adding that goldsmiths were also hard hit as the bulk of their sales were done during the weekend.
Chow Kit Hawkers and Small Traders Association secretary Yusnaedy Idrus said its market was completely paralysed that day.
"Hawkers and traders in the market lost between 200,000 ringgit and 300,000 ringgit," he said.
Malaysian Association for Shopping and Highrise Complex Management adviser Joyce Yap said shopper traffic at malls in Jalan Bukit Bintang dipped by 60%.
She said many shopping centres had to bear additional costs, including deploying more manpower and putting up barricades as safety measures.
3 comments