SIBU: Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) needs to give some flexibility to the rural farmers when issuing temporary licenses to trade at the Pasar Tamu of the Sibu Central Market.
Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) Sibu branch chairman Chambai Lindong said the rural farmers would only come to trade when their produce is available and when they come, they normally bring varieties of produce normally not available in Sibu.
“As far as possible, regular outstation native farmers should be given some spaces as this will not only provide them with extra income but will provide more options available to the customers,” he said.
Chambai was asked to comment on a news report today on the council’s plan to introduce a temporary license for Pasar Tamu and Sunday Market traders.
He said the issuance of the temporary license is ideal if the place is overcrowded, insufficient or out of control but the news report by a local English daily did not say it was the case.
The report quoted the council’s market and petty traders standing committee chairman, Albert Tiang as saying that SMC would give priority to traders from within its jurisdiction for the temporary license but according to him, if the place was not overcrowded or beyond control, “there is no reason to exclude any of them when they apply for the temporary licenses”.
Chambai further said that if the reason was to exclude Pasar Tamu traders who have family members already having trading licenses or trading lots in other markets in town, the rationale is laudable but the approval of the application for the temporary licenses must be done in a fair, just and flexible manner.
“The temporary licenses should not be issued to those who have family members already have trading licenses or lots to trade at various daily markets outlets in Sìbu because doing so would deprive the genuine rural farmers who need an outlet to market their products and to earn extra income,” he stressed.
The reopening of the Pasar Tamu and Sunday Market at open areas here, after they were closed following the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) on March 18 and the subsequent conditional MCO which ended on Tuesday, has been delayed by two weeks as SMC had decided to go ahead with the introduction of a temporary license for their traders. – Bernama
