KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Most people know the Jalan Raja Bot Market as Pasar Chow Kit or Chow Kit Market. A smelly, crowded place that has a bit of an unsavoury reputation, it was ordered to close until May 13 so traders and workers can be screened for Covid-19.
And to facilitate disinfection works.
“The market is actually known as Pasar Jalan Raja Bot because it’s on Jalan Raja Bot. People who live in Kampung Baru know it as that.
“But I also know it as Pasar Manggis. My ancestors told me that back in the day, there were a lot of mangosteen trees surrounding the market,” said Latif Ismail, 73, a third-generation Kampung Baru resident.
The Jalan Raja Bot Municipal Market was declared open on May 28, 1955 so it pre-dates independence. But wait, who was Raja Bot?
Raja Bot Raja Jumaat was a Malay ruler in Lukut, a famous tin mining area then, in the 19th century.
Most roads in Kampung Baru are named after Malay rulers to honour their contribution to the country (after the British left), while some are named after those who were part of the Malay Agricultural Settlement (MAS) committee, a body which oversaw the infrastructural development of Kampung Baru.
Although the Jalan Raja Bot Market is the second largest one after the Selayang wholesale market, it has seen a drop in the number of customers over the years.
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“As more markets open up in neighbourhoods, people don’t come here anymore especially since parking is a problem,” said Latif.
He added that the building which originally housed the market was demolished in 2016 to make way for a four-storey market.
In recent times, the market acquired a stigma for being overrun by foreigners — mostly Indonesians; both traders as well as customers.
“People say only foreigners come to this market to buy from migrant workers who man the stalls but that is not entirely true. Permits can only be applied by locals, but some of them take in migrant workers since it is hard to hire locals,” explained Latif.
Similarly, there have been complaints that foreigners have taken over Kampung Baru. Latif said this is probably because many of the original residents of the village moved elsewhere and have rented out their properties to these foreigners.
Zainuddin Abdul Rahman, an Achehnese, came here in the early 80s and got his permanent resident status three years later.
“I did construction work almost my entire life here in Malaysia. Some buildings you may know today like the Dayabumi Complex and the Umno headquarters, Menara Dato’ Onn, I worked on those projects as a construction labourer,” said Zainuddin.
As he got older, Zainuddin switched to working in the Raja Bot Market.
“I’m not the only who did this, many of us who were construction workers followed this path,” he said.
Today, Zainuddin runs a poultry stall at the market and resides with his family in Kampung Baru.
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Latif said this does not mean Kampung Baru is “lost” to foreigners as non-Malaysians cannot own land in Kampung Baru. Latif’s neighbour Gani Muhammad, 72, said he would not sell his plot of land unless there is a developer genuinely interested in developing the land with intentions to preserve the village’s heritage.
“Kampung Baru has seen so many major events in the past including the May 13 tragedy which started on Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz (then known as Princess Road).
“But the MCO that we’re observing now is far worse than those times when we were put under curfew. Now we can’t even stop by to talk to our neighbours,” said Latif.
He recalled that they could go to the market then without having to worry about social distancing and the restricted movement did not extend to more than 40 days.
Sharing the same sentiments, Gani said after May 13 there were no rules which limited the number of people and time spent in the market.
“Now you cannot do that. They only allow about 30 at one time into the market, and you only have 15 minutes to shop. If you take longer than that, they will come and look for you.
“If you disobey the MCO you get fined RM1,000 or worse, put in prison,” he said.
