More suitable venues for mobile vendors
Published on: Wednesday, August 04, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
.jpg "More suitable venues for mobile vendors")
This is one of the 18 durian stalls which City Hall staff found on the road shoulder at the time.
CITY HALL plans to give mobile vendors, including durian-sellers, who have set up their stalls on road shoulders along the Tuaran Bypass more suitable venues from where they can sell their produce.A spokesman for the agency said this matter was raised during a management meeting on Tuesday.
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“The hawkers will not be moved ‘secara bekelompok’ (en masse) as we want to avoid crowds from forming around them where Covid-19 might easily be transmitted,” he said.
“They will be broken up into smaller groups and situated at more ideal locations, preferably in areas where commercial activities are already taking place.”
He said one possibility, which was briefly considered, was to have them sited in the towns nearby.
“However, they will not be allowed to do business after sundown as the operation of night markets is still disallowed under the National Security Council’s standard operating procedures (SOPs).”
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City Hall staff checking on the SOP-compliance at one of the stalls.
“We are still discussing how best to accommodate these hawkers and hope to come up with a feasible solution by the end of the week.”
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The spokesman said City Hall had been swamped with complaints about the safety hazards posed by the fruit stalls which had mushroomed on the Bypass over the past few weeks.
He said the relevant sections at the agency had been tasked with looking into these concerns.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Enforcement Department said four of its staff had gone to the Bypass on a Thursday afternoon towards the end of last month.
“A total of 18 durian-sellers were found on the roadside, some of whom had set up canvas shelters while others were operating out of their vehicles,” he said.
These staff observed that there was a distance of between two to five meters between each of the stalls.
They also noted that the vendors tried to remain SOP-compliant by having stand-up thermometers and QR codes for their customers to scan.
“The vendors were given a friendly reminder to keep their surroundings clean.
“They were instructed not to throw the empty husks on the road-shoulder and to properly dispose of the litter from their activities.”
The spokesman said four officers from the agency’s Licencing Department (LD) were also present during the two-hour investigation.
A LD spokeswoman said none of the hawkers had prior permission from City Hall to set up their stalls on the roadside.
“When asked, they said they were operating under the auspices of the Chief Minister.
“The vendors cited a clause on roadside stalls in a press statement by the CM on June 28 about Phase 1 of the implementation national recovery plan.”
WARREN of Manggatal said drivers, who decided to check out the items being sold on the road shoulders, risked causing a bad accident on the Bypass.
“My car almost collided with a lorry which swerved in front of me at around 4.30pm over the weekend,” he said.
“The lorry driver shifted into my lane because the motorist in front of him suddenly decided to pull over at one of the stalls on the roadside.”
Warren said it was fortunate he had been mentally alert to what was transpiring on the highway at the time.
“If I had been tired, I might not have been able to react in time and would have wound up hitting the lorry.”
He said drivers, who stopped to go to the stalls, also created a jam along the road.
“They park cars very close to the edge of the road, so drivers have to decelerate to go round these vehicles.
“During the peak hour after work, this may cause the traffic to bank up and create a jam.”
A durian-seller giving his particulars to City Hall staff.
He described the presence of the stalls along the Bypass as being “ill advised”.
“By doing this, the vendors not only endanger themselves but their customers as well.
“They and their patrons run the risk of being knocked down by motorists.”
Warren said he didn’t begrudge the hawkers the right to make a living especially during these difficult times.
“Nevertheless, there must be a safer location for them to conduct their business.
“The local authority should consider setting up an ‘R & R’-spot on some empty land nearby for them to operate, at least temporarily.”
Warren furnished Hotline with the location of some of these vendors which was forwarded to City Hall.
The agency has previously deemed hawkers who operate on road shoulders around the State Capital as being illegal.
Such individuals can be deemed to have contravened City Hall’s Hawkers Bylaws 1966 as vendors are not permitted to set up their stalls on reserve land besides roads around Kota Kinabalu.
Under the By Laws, offenders can be compounded up to RM500 and face the possibility of having their wares confiscated by the agency.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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