Three Stalls Delay Sri Petaling Lestari Niaga Upgrade, DBKL Says

This is not a story about three random stalls holding up a beautification job for no reason. It is a small but revealing example of how a citywide hawker-upgrade programme becomes complicated once plans meet real businesses, utilities, access needs, neighbouring restaurants and residents who have their own ideas for the site.

The latest update matters most to people who live, trade or eat around Sri Petaling. It also gives the rest of Kuala Lumpur a useful look at how Lestari Niaga@KL is being implemented on the ground — and why timelines can move even after demolition phases have been announced.

01 · What exactly is delayed?

The current dispute centres on 17 roadside stalls along Jalan Radin Anum in Sri Petaling that were identified for Lestari Niaga upgrades.

A DBKL notice dated 17 July divided the stalls into three demolition phases: five stalls from 1 August to 30 September, six from 1 September to 30 October, and the final six from 1 October to 30 November.

Only two of the five phase-one stalls were demolished when work began on 1 August. In a statement reported by The Star on 14 September, DBKL said three stalls remain unresolved and that construction will begin after the outstanding issues are settled.

02 · Why are three stalls still standing?

DBKL listed several practical reasons rather than one single dispute. It said site visits were carried out on 28 July and 19 August, and cited operators being unwilling to allow construction to begin, the need to shift electricity and lamp poles, and traders who wanted to restore stalls themselves.

Those points matter because the work is not happening on an empty construction site. People are trading there, electrical infrastructure is in the way, and changing one stall can affect pedestrian space, sightlines and neighbouring businesses.

The latest DBKL statement also says site decisions are being based on its existing hawker census and technical factors such as site size and physical obstructions. City Hall says the aim is to consider legal requirements and stakeholder interests while making sure accessibility and business operations are not unnecessarily disrupted.

03 · Traders had already raised fairness and size concerns

The delay follows complaints reported in August from traders at Jalan Radin Anum. Some operators questioned why only two stalls in the first group had been demolished while others continued trading, and raised concerns about how many lots each hawker could apply for and how much usable space the rebuilt stalls would provide.

Those earlier concerns do not prove that every complaint is valid, and DBKL’s latest response does not say the whole programme is being abandoned. What it does show is that the implementation has become a negotiation over timing, layout and who absorbs the disruption while the work is under way.

For residents, the useful distinction is between the programme goal and the site-level execution. Lestari Niaga is intended to improve existing hawker facilities; the Sri Petaling argument is over how that goal is delivered at this particular row of stalls.

04 · What is Lestari Niaga@KL supposed to do?

DBKL describes Lestari Niaga as an initiative to upgrade and beautify facilities used by existing small traders and hawkers so they are more comfortable, organised and customer-friendly.

Earlier in 2026, City Hall said hundreds of trading locations had been identified for upgrades, with the programme intended to benefit thousands of traders. Other DBKL updates this year have shown modular kiosks, improved layouts and site works being rolled out under the same umbrella.

That wider context matters in Sri Petaling: this is not a one-off rebuild dreamed up for Jalan Radin Anum. It is one location inside a much larger programme, and the way DBKL handles delays, temporary trading disruption and stakeholder complaints here may shape confidence in similar upgrades elsewhere.

05 · What about the proposed hawker centre and carpark?

Sri Petaling residents have also pushed a different idea: use an existing open-air carpark on Jalan Radin Bagus 8 for a multipurpose building that could combine a hawker centre, parking and other community uses, rather than keeping the upgraded roadside stalls where they are.

DBKL says engagement sessions have been held with representatives from the local MP’s office, business operators, hawkers and residents’ associations. But according to the latest City Hall statement, no consensus has been reached.

For now, DBKL says that site will remain an open-air carpark. That does not permanently kill the idea, but it means residents should not treat the proposed building as an approved replacement project.

06 · What should Sri Petaling residents expect next?

The most concrete next step is simple: the unresolved first-phase issues need to be settled before the remaining construction can start. The published schedule still places the wider 17-stall works across August to November, but the existing delay means residents and traders should treat those dates as a programme framework rather than a guarantee that every individual stall will move exactly on the original day.

People using Jalan Radin Anum should expect the area to remain in transition. Traders may operate differently while works are staged, utility work may be needed, and access around the stalls can change. If a particular business is your reason for visiting, checking directly with that trader before making a special trip is sensible.

The bigger question is whether DBKL can deliver a cleaner, more organised trading environment without leaving some hawkers carrying a disproportionate share of the disruption or creating new access problems for neighbouring premises. That is the part worth watching after the construction catches up.

07 · Sources & verification

The 14 September update — including the three unresolved stalls, DBKL’s reasons for the delay, the three-phase schedule, accessibility considerations and the lack of consensus over the Jalan Radin Bagus 8 multipurpose-building proposal — was checked against The Star’s current Sri Petaling report.

The earlier trader concerns and original site dispute were cross-checked against The Star’s 22 August report. The programme’s stated purpose — upgrading and beautifying facilities for existing small traders and hawkers — was checked against DBKL’s official Lestari Niaga description, with a current 2026 DBKL update on modular kiosks used as additional programme context.