KUALA LUMPUR, July 17 — Malaysian China Association (MCA) hopes to get the situation back to normal at Low Yat Plaza by organising a Hari Raya gathering at the shopping mall that has seen a drastic drop in business following last Saturday’s riot.
The Star Online reported that MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai as saying Low Yat retailers had claimed there had been a 40 to 50 per cent drop in sales after a theft of a handphone turned into a brawl that left seven people injured last Sunday.
Liow who visited the plaza today was quoted as saying Federal Territories MCA had proposed to hold a Hari Raya celebration in Low Yat Plaza by early August. He added the proposal had to be discussed with the Federal Territories Ministry and the management of Low Yat Plaza.
The mob violence at Low Yat Plaza last weekend was said to have stemmed from false rumours spread through social media of a Malay allegedly being conned by an ethnic Chinese trader over the sale of a counterfeit smartphone.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has since said that the Low Yat Plaza incident was not racial in nature, but involved a criminal case.
Police have also maintained the crime was not racial in nature and have classified it a theft case involving an unemployed 22-year-old who was later charged with stealing a RM800 phone from an outlet.
