Malaysia determined to tackle Ramadan street vendor license speculation

Observed by billions of people worldwide , fasting from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.

While it fosters empathy for the less fortunate, Ramadan is also a celebration of food: Malaysia's bustling markets offer a variety of dishes to break the fast as night falls.

In the capital Kuala Lumpur, getting a spot at these markets is fierce, as a month's sales can equal a year's income elsewhere.

Permits issued by city hall to hawker associations for as little as 300 ringgit ($67) are often resold at exorbitant prices – sometimes as much as 20,000 ringgit, more than 60 times the original price.

These costs affect customers, driving up prices and discouraging many from visiting wet markets. Malaysia's Federal Territories Minister Zaliha Mustafa, who has authority above city hall, has broken up the system by cutting out middlemen and auctioning licenses directly to "those who really want to do business."

On Wednesday and yesterday, Zaliha Mustafa warned that anyone found reselling their licenses would have their licenses revoked. "We will take strict action against both the sellers and the buyers," the minister said. "We will revoke their licenses and blacklist them."

Under Malaysia’s new regulations, licensees must be present at their stalls or risk being shut down. The auction is also now being live-streamed on the town hall’s Facebook page to ensure transparency.

Traders welcomed the reform after years of having to go through a costly and opaque process dominated by brokers, the South China Morning Post reported.

In Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's efforts to reduce Malaysia's dependence on foreign workers, Minister Zaliha Mustafa also instructed traders not to hire foreign workers, regardless of their legal status.

The Malaysian public is hoping that the changes will put an end to the country's "air-filled curry puffs" - a sardonic term used in the country where traders cut corners to cut costs when they are already paying high rents.

Quang Anh (according to SCMP)