Historic Taiping market to be turned into tourist attraction

The 130-year-old Taiping market is set to undergo a major facelift in the name of tourism. Once completed, it will become a "Pasar Budaya dan Medan Selera", cultural centre-cum-eatery akin to Kuala Lumpur’s Central Market. 

The news was announced by Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff at the monthly full board meeting of the council last week.

Market traders will be relocated to a yet-to-be constructed market in Tupai, about 2km away from the Taiping market. Rahim said a one-hectare site in Tupai had been identified for the construction of the market.

“The new market will be built within two or three years,” he said, adding that the project was formally approved in 2008.

However, the decision did not go down well with the town councillors, especially those from MCA, who last month held a survey to find out whether the market traders and local residents agreed to the plan to move the wet market to Tupai.

A majority of the 9,760 respondents disagreed with the relocation, said Taiping MCA division chief Ang Swee Eng, who is also a town councillor.

“As town councillors, we respect the decision but it does not mean that we (Taiping MCA) supports the relocation of the market traders.”

She told The Malaysian Insider that the council “did not give due respect” to the findings of the survey.

Ang said the project was approved by the Pakatan Rakyat administration in 2008 and it was not necessarily binding.

She said only town councillors from Umno agreed to the move.

“We were told that a pre-council meeting would be held to discuss the matter but this was also never done,” said Ang. -- The Malaysian Insider