About 30 of them held a demonstration yesterday, demanding that the council hear their grouses.

The morning market, known as the Kuala Kangsar Road Market, is located behind the well-known Chowrasta Market. The city council has decided to clear the stalls there.

One of the traders, Lai Kong Hooi, told FMT that business on Jalan Kuala Kangsar had been going on “without any problems” for more than 30 years.

He said it would be “impossible” to do business at the new site because the tiny stalls the traders would be operating from, which he called “boxes”, were too close to each other in the already cramped and busy area.

Jalan Chowrasta is lined by shophouses. The owner of one of the shops there, Gopal Krishnan, said the new arrangement would inconvenience both traders and shoppers.

He said it would be better to have a single file of lots for the morning traders instead of lining them in two tight rows.

Gopal also suggested that the city council beautify Jalan Chowrasta before asking the traders to move in and ban cars from using the road.

The protesting traders belong to a group of 88 who failed to get a spot at the refurbished Chowrasta Market.

The city council’s alternate chairman on licensing, Ong Ah Teong, has been quoted as saying that only 112 of the 200 morning market traders were allowed to get into the Chowrasta Market.

He said the council selected the traders after observing their business patterns for 30 days. They were required to be open for at least 20 days a month to qualify.

The new Chowrasta Market has 289 stalls. It is open daily from 5am to 10pm and it has 125 parking bays.