KUALA LUMPUR -- The city came alive yesterday with people back thronging popular shopping spots, especially around Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman.
A Bernama check found shopping complexes as crowded as ever on a typical weekend without any signs of the complete washout on Saturday when many shops were closed as a result of the illegal rally by Bersih.
A visitor from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Saini Kussu, 62, and his wife, Rahmah Manjcik, 60, who were in Kuala Lumpur the last two days were busy shopping before flying back this evening.
"I knew there was an illegal rally (yesterday), so I postponed my visit to the Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman area, and thank God, the situation has returned to normal.
"Members of the public and tourists need not worry as they can now go about and shop in peace," he said.
Sharifah Azizam, 50, from Terengganu, also had to cancel her plan to visit Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman on Saturday after learning that police had blocked entry into the city centre.
"Those who were involved in the illegal rally had inconvenienced the public as police had to close certain roads for the safety of the people.
"I am able to come today to browse around as well as watch the people go by," she said.
For the traders, they suffered heavy losses on Saturday, some as much as RM4,000 as they had to close their business premises earlier than usual.
Wilson Chye 28, said Saturdays and Sundays should have been busy days but as a result of the illegal rally, his shop recorded a loss of about RM4,000 as people stayed away from the area.
"Even (today), shoppers are still worried about their safety. Although the crowd has returned, it is not as big as usual," he said.
S. Vinotharna, 32, a worker at a cinema in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, said the cinema was closed on Saturday out of fear that the situation could become tense and unruly.
Bernama also checked out the Dataran Merdeka area and found the situation to be back to normal although the road in front of Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad is closed on weekends.
