By Christine T
KUCHING, Oct 29: Kuching South City Council (MBKS) will return deposits withheld from Kuching Food Festival 2026 vendors who breached regulations if their appeals are acceptable, with Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng saying the council had to follow procedures before deciding whether to forfeit or refund the deposits.
Responding to a Facebook post by Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong yesterday on the delayed refunds, Wee said he had personally endorsed the decision to give the affected vendors another chance, as some might not have fully understood the festival’s rules and regulations.
“Some of them might not know the actual policy or rules and regulations that are attached together with the participation in Kuching Food Festival,” he said during a press conference for the MBKS BBQ Evening today.
Wee said the vendors had received warning letters and were given opportunities to explain their cases before the council decides to waive the forfeiture of their deposits, subject to the acceptance of their explanations.
He stressed that MBKS did not withhold deposits without reason, adding that the refund process was ongoing, with payments being released in stages after the council considered the vendors’ explanations and appeals.
Among the festival rules, he said, was that vendors had to operate their own stalls throughout the 24-day event and were not allowed to sublet them to other parties.
Citing a hypothetical example, Wee said a vendor who secured a stall for RM3,500 but sublet it to another party for RM10,000 would be committing a more serious breach that could warrant penalties.
He said such arrangements would be unfair to other applicants who complied with the rules.
Vendors who applied to operate stalls for the full festival period were also expected to run them personally, he added.
If a vendor was found absent for three nights, the council would issue a letter seeking an explanation. An unsatisfactory explanation could result in the deposit being forfeited and the vendor being disqualified from future applications, he said.
The regulations were necessary to ensure fairness among the more than 400 stalls at the festival, as vendors who complied with the rules should not be disadvantaged by those who did not.
He clarified that the deposits were tied to the festival period from July to August, rejecting the suggestion that they had simply been outstanding since June. The council had to issue warning letters and consider appeals before deciding on the refunds, he said.
Wee urged vendors who had yet to receive their deposits to contact MBKS directly so the council could check on their cases.
Acknowledging that mistakes could occur, he said the council would seek to rectify them as soon as possible while continuing to enforce its regulations.– DayakDaily
