When we were waiting at red light, we would often see people with placard on their neck walking along the road or between the car. They’ll be selling a wide variety of snacks and drinks, just wave or call them and they will come to us. However with the increase number in these street vendors, people started to worry about the safety of the seller as well as the other road user.
Among the reasons these street vendors decided to changed their business operation from stall to selling on the road is to survive during the hard time of Movement Control Order. These seller do take safety measure such as they will stay on the divider and only go onto the road if they were called by the buyers. Despite not having records on contact details with people they meet, they still practice brief contact with any of their customers.
The risk they are taking seem to be paying off as some of them had achieved a better sales doing this method instead of staying in a stationed stall.
However, one of the main concern about this situation is hygiene aspect since there is no surety that the food handlers have had typhoid vaccination and we don’t know how the food is prepared or if it is stored in a sanitary environment.
Social activist, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye understood that these traders were only doing this to survive during this hard times but there are also many risks need to be taken into consideration. One of the main concern is their safety while doing the business on the road.
“What if the trader, who is the sole breadwinner of his family, is killed on the road? His family would suffer much more, ” he said.
Secondly, the health issue. His worries is based on that there is no data taken during the interaction between the buyer and the seller. He also suggested that these traders were located in a group in one specific area so that it would be much easier to issue them temporary licence and to collect the contact tracing data.
Netizen’s responses
▼ The road is not a market!
▼ At least they are doing honest work!
▼ By the way, their pickle mango is the boom!
A solution is needed
Kajang Municipal Council public relations head Kamarul Izlan Sulaiman told that so far they have not received any complains from the public yet. He also added that action would only be taken if there is complaint received.
A Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), spokesperson advised that these seller to apply for a six-month temporary licence and to sell their products at a safe place, instead of the busy road.
Shah Alam City Council also advise the seller to apply for a temporary license to trading their products at designated areas as they do received complaints from the public about such street vendors and they had issued compound to some of them.
So, would you support these street vendors or would prefer them to stay on the stationed stall?
Info via The Star