A view of the uptown market inside the compound of Taman Selera Harmoni Food Court in Sibu.
SIBU: The uptown night market at Taman Selera Harmoni Food Court here will reopen tomorrow, said Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) councillor Albert Tiang.
Tiang, who is the council’s market and petty traders standing committee chairman, said the traders have agreed to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP) set out by the council.
“We received a letter from Taman Selera Harmoni uptown market committee today that they have agreed to comply with the council’s SOP. They also requested (for the council to allow them) to reopen as soon as possible that is, tomorrow night.
“SMC will brief them about the criteria and SOP tomorrow morning in order for them to reopen,” Tiang said when contacted by The Borneo Post today.
Tiang revealed that there are over 40 licensed traders at the uptown market who are housed within the compound of the food court.
He said these traders are only permitted to sell merchandise and not food.
Prior to stalls’ closure due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) and Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), they operated from Friday to Sunday, between 6pm and 10pm every week,
For the record, the uptown night market at Taman Selera Harmoni Food Court is touted to be the first of its kind here.
Meanwhile, on the SOP compliance among night market traders at Butterfly Garden, Tiang said they received a good cooperation from the traders.
“So far, all the traders are complying with the SOP and we have no issue. We are happy with their level of cooperation,” he enthused.
Tiang said the night market recorded a strong crowd of around 2,000 people nightly since its reopening last Saturday.
Night market hawkers trade on alternate days in accordance with the federal government’s SOP on social distancing for such businesses.
As stalls would be kept at least 1.5-metre apart, only 82 out of 164 stalls are able to operate every night, with the operation hours are from 5pm to 10pm.