Fret not, as participants of the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat were spoilt for choice when it came to filling their stomachs and to smelling good after a long walk under the sun.
Several traders took the opportunity to make a quick buck or two during the rally. However, there were some who claimed they made losses instead.
Astro Awani’s TK Letchumy Tamboo and Syafique Shuib spoke to the very many traders as they kept them in stitches with funny quotes and interesting experiences.
Participants lining up for some Perak 'Ipoh Mali' char kuey teow
1. Roslan Ibrahim, 43, Perak ‘Ipoh Mali’ Char Kuey Teow stall owner
“I'm from Perak but I travel all over the country whenever there are rallies to sell my Kuey Teow. I’ve been in this business for almost 20 years and rallies are one event where I really earn a lot.
Business has been very good during the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat with people queuing up to buy a packet of my fried noodles for RM4.
I have set up this stall as early as yesterday night. People have been thronging my stall ever since.”
Zamri's (right) perfumes have been selling like hot cakes
2. Zamri Ismail, 45, perfume seller
“I usually sell my perfumes in at a pasar malam (night market) Segamat. However, this time around, I wanted to market the perfumes to a larger group. I know that they rally would be a great place to introduce my perfumes which come from Dubai, India and Mecca.
It was easy for me to set up the stall. My plan worked out because the perfumes have been selling like hot cakes. I made at least RM500 more than what I usually make.”
Many people had bought power banks for their mobile phones
3. Nazir Ibrahim, 31, owner of MNT Telecommunications
"I made some profit today. I managed to sell six units of (mobile phone) power banks at RM80 to RM100 each. People were complaining that their phone batteries were running low. I also managed to sell eight units of car chargers."
People find her fruit juice, priced at RM2, too expensive, says Siti
4. Siti, 43, juice seller
"Profit? What profit? It's a loss. I usually sell my juice to tourists as locals say that my juice, sold at RM2, is expensive. But I use mineral water for my juice so it's good quality as I do not want to cause stomach ache for my customers, mainly tourists. There were not a lot of tourists today so I am disappointed."
But you get funny characters during rallies as during the Bersih 3.0 someone came up to me and offered RM10 for my slippers and I sold it to that person.”
Brisk sales at the sidewalk
5. Hafiz, 28, horns and headband seller
"I managed to sell 200 headbands and 200 horns within an hour, each sold at RM3 and RM5 respectively. As my items are sold-out, I'm going to sell plastic raincoats as it might rain soon."
