By Adrian Lim
KUCHING, April 19: The Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS) is looking into setting up a hawker centre like the Tambirat Hawkers Centre in Asajaya to provide roadside hawkers near Samarahan bridge to trade their products.
MPKS chairman Datuk Peter Minos said the council planned to establish a hawker centre for roadside traders near Samarahan bridge if the council were to be allocated funds from the State government to carry out the project.
“If MPKS gets the fund from the government and if land off and parallel to the road is given and approved, MPKS will set up a similar project (Tambirat Hawkers Centre).
“MPKS has in fact been thinking and talking about this particular project but temporarily stopped by some technical land issue.
“But since, Deputy Chief Minister (Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing) said it, MPKS will revisit and review the plan and the project once again,” he said in a statement today.
Minos was responding to Masing who expressed dissatisfaction over the traffic jam which happened after the Samarahan bridge caused by vehicles parked at the roadside due to roadside hawker stalls selling pineapples and vegetables during his road trip there recently.
Minos revealed that MPKS had previously sought funds from the government to regroup and resettle roadside traders to construct stalls off and parallel to the road before the Samarahan bridge.
Meanwhile, Masing, who is also Infrastructure and Ports Development Minister has suggested to the local authorities to provide a clear and sizable area for hawkers and fishermen to trade their garden produce and catchment at an appropriate place so there would not be traffic jams on the road near Samarahan bridge.
In the meantime, Minos stressed that MPKS has a policy not to allow anyone to conduct business at any roadside in the council’s jurisdiction.
Following Masing’s comments, Minos said the enforcement team of MPKS will look into how to solve the problem of roadside traders amicably.
He pointed out that the enforcement of MPKS had tried to enforce the rules on roadside traders but in vain as they move around in different places and had to earn a living due to the Covid-19 pandemic. — DayakDaily
