COMMENT | The closure of the Petaling Jaya Old Town market along Jalan Othman more than a month ago has brought to fore several sinister happenings and the wheeling and dealing of parties occupying the more than 400 stalls within.

Most glaring of them is the pajak system in which many of the stalls rented out by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) to local traders for between RM48 and RM140 per month have been leased to, among others, undocumented foreigners for up to 30 times the amount.

This amount is supposed to cover water, electricity and cleaning of the public areas. The total cost of these amenities is more than RM40,000 a month.

In a month, there have been feet-dragging, uncertainty and indecision and this has resulted in a “you versus us” battle as residents are demanding more transparency and accountability from the council.

To add a drama to this saga, some politicians are backing the traders and are insisting the market be re-opened on Monday to “prevent the traders from suffering further losses”...