If you heard talks about Jonker Walk closing down, you’ll be happy to know that Tourism Minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz has denied that it will NOT be closed down to “punish” Chinese hawkers.
“It’s just an accusation that is not true. I don’t think we want to punish (the Chinese). I am an UMNO minister and I have nothing personal against the Chinese,” he said.
Just yesterday, about 100 traders staged a walkabout in Jonker Street to protest the state government’s decision to shut down the famous weekend Jonker Walk.
Nazri also said that he had appealed to Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron not to close down the Jonker Walk night market. He believes that the night market is an essential part of Malacca’s tourism sector and should not be closed. “I appealed to him, saying that Jonker Street has been around for 13 years; and I said Malaccans should have known better after 13 years to adapt to this (the road’s closure for the night market).”
“After 13 years, I’m sure you can adapt to this by having a system,” Nazri added.
“Don’t do things that can hurt tourism. If there’s no tourism, then there’s nothing in Malacca,” he stressed. (Source)
