SIBU, June 30: A new weekend market, Taman Indah Pasar Tamu will be a multi-racial tamu and a tourist adventure showcasing the diversity and uniqueness of Sarawak products and food.
Located in Jalan Teku, it is expected to begin operation this October. Traders from Jalan Mahsuri Sunday Market will be relocated here.
Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) Standing Committee chairman for Market and Petty Traders, Councillor Albert Tiang said today that Taman Indah Pasar Tamu site is strategically located within reach of Sungai Bidut (West Bank), Teku, Kampung Bahagia Jaya, Rantau Panjang and Pasai Siong which have a large concentration of Bumiputeras.
“With this new location, the market will be able to attract sizable traders from the Bumiputera community,” he said.
Tiang pointed out that based on council records, the largest number of traders at the Jalan Mahsuri Sunday Market were Chinese making up 81 per cent, Iban at 17 per cent and Malay at 2 per cent.
“The relocation of the Sunday Market to Pasar Tamu Taman Indah will stimulate the local economy and business activities. We will also consider allowing daily tamu trading instead of weekends only since there are no markets around this area and the nearest is in Sungai Merah,” said Tiang.
In order to make the new place more conducive for trading, he said the council would be erecting roof structures to shield traders from sun and rain.
He added that Jalan Mahsuri Sunday Market which was set up 20 years ago, was just a temporary site for tamu traders.
“All these years, SMC wanted to relocate it to a permanent place to meet the community needs but failed to find the right site. Such delay gave the people the impression that Jalan Mahsuri was a permanent location for the Sunday Market,” he clarified.
Besides that, the council had been receiving public complaints on illegal and irresponsible roadside parking that caused traffic congestion at Jalan Mahsuri Sunday Market.
“This is due to the site being next to the main road (Jalan Dr Wong Soon Kai) and with insufficient parking to accommodate the large crowds. The new location allows the diversion of traffic and crowds, away from the CBD during the weekend,” he noted.
There are 342 parking lots at the new site compared to just 95 at the previous one.
At Jalan Mahsuri Pasar Tamu, Tiang lamented that none of the traders observed the general cleanliness of the surrounding area as littering was still quite rampant.—DayakDaily
