Kota Raya Chinese traders should have been more ethical, Ali Tinju says after brawl
(Malay Mail Online) – The fight at Kotaraya yesterday should not be blamed entirely on angry customers, former soldier Mohd Ali Baharom said today.
The leader of the red shirts movement said that traders at the mall, particularly the Chinese, should be more ethical when handling their businesses, and show respect to their customers.
“The issue today is that there are just too many Chinese who use violence and harsh language, and who cheat consumers.
“And as a result, these customers are dissatisfied. When this happens to us or to your family, anything can happen,” he said in a statement sent through WhatsApp this morning.
Last Friday, Mohd Ali or “Ali Tinju” as he is popularly known as, organised a small protest of about 20 people outside the mall following reports that a customer of the mall had been cheated.
During the protest, the army veteran called for a boycott of the mall and urged Putrajaya to conduct training for Chinese traders to prevent more future cheating cases.
Yesterday, a fight broke out at Kotaraya after the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM) held a news conference there to highlight what is believed to be the same cheating case.
According to The Star Online, some 20 men armed with sticks and helmets stormed a handphone shop in the mall at about 5pm seeking refunds and got into an argument with the workers that turned violent.
The brawl reportedly left two people injured.
The cheating case was first reported last week in Utusan Malaysia that said a man was allegedly “confined” in a small room for eight hours by several traders after he refused to buy four handphones for RM10,000.
According to the report, the man had initially agreed to pay RM800 for the phones at RM200 each, thinking the deal a steal, but was shocked when he was told the rate had gone up to RM10,000.
When he told the traders that he wanted a refund of his RM800, they reportedly held him against his will and subsequently agreed to accept the RM5,000 that he withdrew from the ATM.
The report did not specify, however, if the traders were of Chinese descent.
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