KOTA PADAWAN: Pork meat sellers in areas of the Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) particularly those at the 10th Mile Bazaar, Kota Padawan and 7th Mile, Kota Sentosa Bazaar have been urged to stop operating at five-foot-ways of their shops.
MPP deputy chairman Dato Ahmad Ibrahim said that these pork meat sellers should be more respectful of others by conduction their business inside their shop and not at five-foot-ways.
“We would like to encourage our pork meat sellers to be more conscious and aware of people from other religion especially Muslims,” he said at a press conference after MPP full council meeting at Kota Padawan here on Thursday.
He added that there was a guideline to be followed especially with regard to public health as they were not encouraged to trade along five-foot-ways because there were passers-by at all time.
“It is not only humans but also animals passing by which may result in contagious disease and is unhealthy.
“We have done our part to discourage them from trading at five-foot-ways and do it in the enclosure of their shops,” he stressed.
Aside from health reasons, it was also to be respectful of other religion, for the convenience of others so that it would not make people uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, MPP’s Chairman for Public Health, Environment and Municipal Services Ahkim Sarok, said that as far as MPP was concerned, trading at five-foot-ways was restricted.
“Nevertheless, the practice has been ongoing because at our markets, all those people selling pork meat are doing it in an enclosed area. So if they are selling it at the five-foot-ways, they are selling it quite openly and it is quite sensitive especially to our Muslim brothers and sisters.
“So I think MPP should look into regulating this matter by allowing them to trade in a proper enclosure in the future,” said Sarok.
Ahmad added that these pork meat sellers have been fined and they have been paying their fines.
“But it would be nice if they can adapt to the proper way of trading pork meat which is within enclosures as it would be cleaner and more hygienic.
“Aside from trading illegally at five-foot-ways, hygiene was also one of the reasons because the next round, we will do supervisions with the Health Department and the compound will be stricter and stiffer,” he said.
Under the Cleanliness By-law 1999 18(1), the compound for trading at five-foot-way is RM100 on the first offence, RM200 on second offence, RM300 on third offence. On subsequent offences, confiscation will be made.
