Foreign children sell flowers at Kuala Lumpur nightspots

TheStar

Two of the Rohingya children chatting between attempts to sell flowers to bar patrons and club-goers along Changkat Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur. –By VINCENT TAN/The Star

IN KUALA Lumpur’s Changkat Bukit Bintang, children clutching stalks of roses to sell, are a common sight at night, especially after 11pm.

Weaving their way through the crowd, they boldly approach strangers, especially couples, and plead with them to buy the flowers for RM10 a stalk. More often than not, they are ignored or rebuffed.

Only some, who feel pity for these children, buy a stalk or two.

The children, who are Rohingya from Myanmar are quite fluent in Bahasa Malaysia. They live and go to school in Ampang.

“We only sell the flowers on Friday and Saturday nights, not on Sunday because we have to go to school the next morning,” said eight-year-old Hafiz.

The children, usually three girls and two boys aged between eight and 12, have been plying their trade in the area for more than five months.

They come at night and stay until wee hours of the morning, when the nightspots close.

A bar employee, who declined to be named, said the children would try to sell flowers to guests seated outside as they were not allowed into the clubs and bars.

“Business owners tell us to keep them out as irritated customers may be nasty, but we feel sorry for them. Sometimes we let them in to use the washroom or give them something to drink,” he added.

Siti, 11, said she usually sold about three to four stalks a night.

Respite: A Rohingya child (right) having a snack from one of the “lok-lok” stalls during a break between trying to sell flowers to bar patrons and clubbers along Changkat Bukit Bintang.

When asked if she had the United Nations High Com­missioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card, Siti said her mother had one.

Often, after selling a few stalks, the children would head back to their mother, who would be seated at an alley between two clubs in Changkat Bukit Bintang, to replenish their stock.

Other children had also been seen selling flowers in Jalan Bukit Bintang, especially at the intersection in front of Lot 10 recently.

They target motorists waiting in traffic, knocking on their car windows and begging them to buy flowers.

“We have the same problem in Manila, where I come from. Many syndicates use children to sell things and keep watch from afar,” said Filipino tourist Roberto Aguilar who has seen the children in action.

According to employees of nightspots, the foreign children are present almost every night.

Retiree Dr Rajendran Prasad said he too had seen the children trying to to sell roses to locals and tourists alike in a few places in the Golden Triangle, as far as Jalan P. Ramlee.

“I have foreign friends who frequent these areas and they are shocked to see the children peddling here,” he said.

Dr Rajendran said he had complained about the situation to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the police as well as Rela several times but nothing was done.

“I was advised to make a police report instead.

“The children used to go around begging, now they are selling flowers. Something must be done,” he said.

UNHCR Malaysia spokesman Yante Ismail said they were alerted about the matter only recently, by several non-governmental organisations.

“Pending investigations, we cannot verify this information, including if there are syndicates involved,” she said.

Yante added that refugees in Malaysia could not hold a job here so they resorted to taking on odd jobs to survive.

“Some are exploited, paid low wages for working long hours or sometimes not paid at all.

“There are cases where youths and children are forced to take on odd jobs to help support their families,” said Yante.

As of February, there are 101,290 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia and 92% of them originate from Myanmar.

Finding a solution for the refugee population remains challenging as the Malaysian Immigration Act 1959/63 does not differentiate between refugees and illegal migrants and they can be arrested and deported.

“As in most communities, it is poverty and desperation that drive families to allow their children to go out and earn an income.

“There are cases when the head of a household is unable to work, and in such cases, mothers and children are forced to find odd jobs to make ends meet.

“The most practical solution to improve the overall condition of refugees living in Malaysia is to allow them to legally work here.

“Many refugees are skilled and can contribute to the Malaysian economy. With a regular income, they can pay for basic needs such as food, shelter and health care, as well as their children’s education,” said Yante.

When contacted, the Federal Territory Welfare Department declined to comment.