Fate of Little Penang Street Market uncertain after tomorrow

The Star, Saturday, 29 July 2017

BY AFTER 11 LONG YEARS BEING A VIBRANT, INTERESTING BAZAAR, AND THE FINAL CURTAIN WILL FALL ON THE LITTLE PENANG STREET MARKET (LPSM).

Little Penang Street Market comittee

(From right) LPSM committee members Khoo, Cheah, Ong and MBPP assistant administrative officer Amir Ali showing the press release on the last Little Penang Street Market and its 11th anniversary celebration.

For all the stakeholders, tomorrow will surely be a special occasion as the LPSM will also be celebrating its 11th anniversary.

“This will be the last Little Penang Street Market for us. We do not know what will happen next.

“Perhaps, somebody wants to step in and take over the running of the market,” LPSM committee member Adrian Cheah said.

The LPSM, he said, is a community project and needs the support from the public.

“You can’t have a market without any support.

“It has been 11 years and the number of visitors has dwindled.

“There are loyal vendors who feel sad but at the end of the day, this is a community project, and the people have to support it,” Cheah told a press conference at the City Stadium in Datuk Keramat recently.

About 25 vendors will be taking part on its last hurrah tomorrow, a far cry from the 80-odd vendors during its inauguration in 2006.

A councillor of Penang Island City Council (MBPP) Khoo Salma Nasution said the LPSM was the pioneering street market in Penang.

“It has spawned a myriad of imitators. Many vendors have used it as a platform to become highly successful entrepreneurs.

“Over the years, there are also more competitions such as the Occupy Beach Street, Hin Bus Depot and Armenian Street Got Talent.

“People have more choices now and the committee members are getting old. It is about time we retired,” Khoo, who is also a committee member, said in jest.

Another committee member Lyndy Ong said the market’s running cost was too high.

“The rental and the budget from the MBPP were not enough to cover the cost,” she said.

The LPSM is held every last Sunday of the month in Upper Penang Road from 10am to 4pm.

The Nyonya Belles from Penang Straits Chinese Association are scheduled to perform their traditional Nyonya dances tomorrow.

Penang Straits Chinese Association member Lili Wong will be demonstrating how to make savoury nasi kerabu.

Visitors can also discover how Nyonya manek shoes are made, attend a clay workshop and a batik painting event too.

A busking competition will start at 2pm while durian farmers will also be there to sell their fruits at the market.

Visit www.facebook.com/lpsm.littlepenang for details or call 012-475 9079.