(Seated from fourth left) Dr Annuar, together with Ramadan bazaar coordinator Khalid Zaini and others pose for a group photo. – Photo by Peter Boon
SIBU (Feb 25): Stricter enforcement will be taken against any Ramadan bazaar stall operators who ignore the issue of cleanliness and this includes a two-week business suspension, said Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee.
Dr Annuar, also the Nangka assemblyman, said this to the reporters after conducting a briefing session with the Ramadan bazaar traders here today.
This year’s Ramadan bazaar which will commence on March 11 at Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang Phase 2 here is organised by Nangka Service Centre and is managed by Persatuan Peniaga-Peniaga Bergerai Sibu and Persatuan Usahawan Bersatu Sibu.
The Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development said the public can lodge a complaint via WhatsApp – through a contact number that will be informed again closer to the date.
“To ensure a high level of food and stalls cleanliness, we will be setting up a WhatsApp complaint number where visitors can forward their complaints and the stall number,” Dr Annuar said.
Commenting further, he said each stall will be allotted a number and which is to be displayed at the stall, to facilitate the public to lodge their complaints.
“This year, we have 108 stall operators, and in other words, we have 54 canopies measuring 20 feet by 20 feet each and each canopy will be shared by two operators.
“I have stressed to these stall operators that they must practise a high standard of hygiene and cleanliness to avoid any cases of food poisoning.
“We know some operators obtain their food from suppliers, as they are not the ones preparing it, and because of this, the unsold ones for the day will be ‘circulated’ again the following day.
“This ‘recycled’ food may have become stale or rotten and those consuming it could get food poisoning – we don’t want that to happen,” said Dr Annuar, adding that the organiser will work closely with the Ministry of Health throughout the running of the Ramadan bazaar.
On the Ramadan bazaar itself, Dr Annuar said a different concept will be incorporated this year, where visitors can dine at the premises.
“We will provide a space which will include tables at the centre of the bazaar for the visitors to dine and ‘berbuka puasa’ and we will also provide a small praying space for the Muslims to perform their prayer for breaking fast.
The strict measures on hygiene and the bazaar’s new concept, he said, were taken due to the drop in the number of visitors in the recent years.
On another related matter, Dr Annuar stressed that the organiser has ensured fairness and transparency in the vendors’ application process.
“In this regard, there will be no such thing as rent-on-rent, as we want to be fair to the operators.
“We have emphasised that if you are not operating it, you have to let go of the stall,” he said.
“There were issues previously where the applicants had monopolised the number of stalls, just to have them rented to others and earned a bit of money but this sort of business practice is unhealthy,” he added.