BANGI, April 7 -- Already struggling to make ends meet, a group of traders in Sungai Ramal, Selangor have now lost their stalls and shops to bulldozers when the local council went ahead with a demolition order yesterday, despite their entreaties.

The stalls and shops, located at Kampung Manickam Bangi Lama, were closed down by order of the Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) at the start of the year, leaving many of the traders without a source of income. According to the traders, the reason was never made clear.

At a news conference today, the traders said they have been going to different authorities one after the other - the MPKj, the Hulu Langat District Land Office, as well as their local assemblyman and MP - for help to reopen their b...