(Image courtesy of Google Gemini)
by Dr Rahim Said
It was a scene not unfamiliar in Malaysia — plastic chairs strewn, umbrellas overturned, woks and rice pots carted off like contraband in a drug bust. This time it was Shah Alam.
The Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), in what can only be described as a full-blown military operation, deployed around 150 personnel from multiple agencies, including PDRM, to dismantle unlicensed food stalls in Taman Subang Perdana, Section U3.
The justification? Public complaints. Hygiene. Traffic. Rodents.
Fair enough. Nobody wants to bite into their nasi lemak only to discover it’s been seasoned by an army of cockroaches. But somewhere between pest control and paperwork, we seem to have lost the script on compassion.
When asked by an MBSA officer if he had registered for a business license, one elderly uncle calmly replied:
“I’ve registered with Allah.”
Now, before you scoff, pause. This wasn’t sarcasm. It was faith — cloaked in quiet desperation. It was his way of saying: “I am doing what I can to survive. I have no idea how to navigate your bureaucracy, but I’m not stealing, I’m not begging, I’m just cooking.”
His reply left the officers speechless.
It should leave the rest of us thoughtful.
Because Allah, unlike MBSA, does not require a rubber stamp.
But of course, rules are rules. Nobody is arguing for anarchy. What we’re asking is: must the enforcement of rules come with bulldozers, confiscation, and the quiet humiliation of our elders trying to eke out a living?
Is it so difficult to bring along, say, a folding table and a stack of forms instead of riot gear?
Just picture it — a squad of uniformed officers, clipboards in hand, walking from stall to stall under the morning sun, not to seize rice cookers, but to help Mak Cik Maznah and Pak Cik Yusof fill out a form. One that gives them that precious kebenaran — permission — to carry on feeding a neighbourhood that, until the complaints came in, probably adored them.
Instead, we raze the stall, seize the stove, and call it a day. Problem solved. Praise be to enforcement.
Let’s be honest: how much of this boils down to a piece of paper with a signature and an official stamp?
It is not divine scripture. It is not beyond the comprehension of the average hawker. But to many, especially the elderly, the process might as well be.
Licensing, online forms, council regulations, inspections — this is a world far removed from those who once just wheeled out their food carts and won hearts by taste, not permits.
Meanwhile, how many licensed stalls with laminated documents display sparkling kitchens behind their counters?
Let he who has never eaten in a restaurant with questionable hygiene cast the first report to MBSA.
We don’t deny the importance of hygiene or public order. But perhaps, just perhaps, a better solution would be walking with the people rather than marching over them.
If we can send 150 personnel to tear down stalls, surely we can assign 15 to help build up small lives?
And for those who say “just follow the law,” let us not forget — the law is meant to serve the people, not punish the poor.
So the next time someone says they’ve registered with Allah, perhaps we should listen — not to laugh, but to learn.
Because what they’re really saying is:
“I’m trying. Please meet me halfway.”
For Allah’s sake, can we not?
Just hand them the form.
Just give them the stamp.
Just help them.
(The expressions in this article are entirely those of the writer)
WE