Lo Khere Chiang
Lo, who is MPP chairman, noted that the need for trading places is particularly pressing in areas such as MJC Batu Kawah, where there are about 500 hawkers trading in the car parks every Thursday to Saturday.
While there had been only a few complaints from shop owners presently due to low customer traffic, he feared that “there would come a day when they would not want to see hawkers in front of their shop lots”.
As such, Lo stressed that it is important that trading places be put in place in new areas under the MPP jurisdiction.
“We cannot wait until the town grows beyond the stage when there is no viable space for a market to meet the day to day needs of the people.” he said when debating on the state budget at the State Legislative Assembly here yesterday.
He stressed that planning, site identification and space allocation for the market must be done well before the township grows too big as by that it would be harder to do so.
He mentioned that MPP had identified a 7.5-acre land for a market at the Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) golf range along Jalan Keretapi.
Describing the plot of land as an ideal place, he said it has a river running beside it and on the other side of the river is a 10.4-acre piece of state land which is in MPP area.
Lo proposed to the state government that the two plots of land be linked by a bridge, saying with proper planning, the area could serve as a good marketplace for the large community in both DBKU and MPP areas.
“Both DBKU and MPP can join forces to take the market under their wings and I hope that our state government will consider this proposal,” said Lo.
He also said the proposed market would help address illegal hawking in MPP areas.
Going into detail, Lo said on a daily basis, there were usually around 1,000 hawkers trading in all corners of MPP area – at Batu 3, Batu 7, Batu 10, Siburan, Beratok, Tapah, Matang, Telaga Air, City Mall and MJC.
He said about 80 per cent of them were trading illegally, with most of them villagers from neighbouring villages looking for ways to supplement their livelihood.
“These villagers can be seen early in the morning carrying baskets of vegetables to trade near the roadside or where there are people. By noon, most of them are gone,” shared Lo.
He further said there had been numerous complaints from residents that the situation was an eyesore besides expressing concerns on safety.
He lamented that there seemed to be no end to the issue as “No matter what was done, they will come back another day as they do need the extra cash they earn”.
“Housing all these hawkers under one roof and legalising them is the only way to solve the problem.
“That way, we can ensure that these hawkers are legal and the place is kept clean with proper planning.” Lo asserted.
Besides the hawker issues, Lo also alluded to the request made by the wholesale market association to the state government for a suitable trading space.
Presently, he pointed out, the wholesalers are conducting their business at night in the Stutong market, which he said is not conducive for trading as it has no proper roofing or lights.
“Should an area be approved to house these wholesalers in Padawan area, MPP will be happy to assist the state government in the proper management of the wholesalers in this area,” Lo stated.
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