By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, March 15: The Madani Ramadan Bazaar at Medan Niaga Satok offers a delightful array of over 80 drinks, with every color of ‘air balang’ (drink container) featuring its own distinct flavour for visitors seeking refreshment during the fasting month.
As you walk through the 72 stalls set up at the bazaar, in one glance, you might think that the colorful ‘air balang’ can be obtained anywhere else.
However, as Sarawakian Muslims undergo fasting during the month of Ramadan, a thirst-quenching drink is one of the things that they would look forward to, especially as starters during the breaking of fast.
The bazaar caters to this need by offering an irresistible selection of drinks, including favorites like ais kacang or ABC (ais batu campur), cendol, sugarcane juice, soymilk, asamboi, and detox drinks.
Apart from the drinks, the participating vendors also offer a variety of dishes like briyani chicken, ayam penyet, kolo mee, mee jawa, as well as an array of kuih-muih.
During his visit to the bazaar, Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman revealed that the Sarawak Health Department has allocated a team to conduct regular inspections on the vendors to ensure that they comply with strict hygiene standards when preparing food.
When asked to comment on the public’s call for a boycott following soaring prices of items sold in Ramadan bazaars, he explained that the public must learn to look at the matter from the vendors’ standpoint.
“We need to understand that the vendors’ main objective is to earn a profit. Therefore, they would need to calculate the costs incurred and mark up to a certain percentage in order for them to earn profit.
“If the raw material is expensive, we have to understand that the vendors have no option but to increase the prices of their products too,” he told reporters during his walkabout.
Organised by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA), the Madani Ramadan Bazaar is projected to collect sales worth RM1.5 million.
Also present was FAMA Sarawak director Ramli Mat Sani. — DayakDaily
