Perhaps due to the "HINDRAF effect", these businessmen will have a chance for renewal.
KUALA LUMPUR: Over 1,000 scrap metal dealers in the country have not been successful in renewing their licences with the police this year.
Malaysian Indian Metal Traders and Recyclers' Association (Mimta) president Datuk P. Krishnamurthi is concerned that this problem will be repeated when licences are up for renewal again next year.
"We are appealing to the government and the inspector-general of police to look into this matter.
"The scrap metal industry is very important to the country's recycling efforts," he said yesterday.
"Every month, in the Klang Valley alone, we collect some 50,000 tonnes of rubbish to be sorted and recycled.
"As long as they abide by the rules, keep their books in order and not deal with stolen goods, their licences should be renewed."
Mimta secretary general R.A. Param called for the freeze on licences imposed in March last year to be lifted.
He said most dealers had already complied with the conditions attached to the freeze by relocating their business to industrial areas.
"It is unfair that those who take the trouble to venture into the business are given the runaround where licences are concerned," he added.
Param called on all new dealers operating from industrial areas, who have yet to get their licences, to contact Mimta.
"We want to compile a list of these traders and this is not only confined to our members.
"It is extended to all scrap metal dealers, whether they are Indian, Malay or Chinese," he said.