Wet markets - a 'new order' of compliance and common sense

The wet market along Jalan Othman in Petaling Jaya, popularly known as the PJ Old Town market, has now been closed for about two weeks. What has since been going on inside is unknown because the entire premises have been sealed.

There is reason to believe that some clean-up operations have been or are being undertaken by the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). Then, on being given the go-ahead by the health authorities, it will be opened again. But don’t do it yet.

The closure should be used by the authorities to come out with a “new order” which will protect all stakeholders – the traders, the customers and the council itself.

This order should be the forbearer of a system which encompasses compliance and adherence to laws, principles, policies and above all, common sense and logic.

It must not remain an order on paper with no teeth. It should be supported by strict compliance, enforcement and punishment. It should be an order where no discretion is given to anyone (however high up he or she is) to bend or break the laws or dispense with procedures.

It starts on the premise that the primary objective is to provide a conducive environment – safe and hygienic – to do one's marketing. For the trader, it will ensure his own safety, the ease his system of doing business and practising a good regime that always draws customers.

Almost all the local councils in England have their own set of rules and regulations governing the operations of markets and regulating the traders. There’s plenty on the Net.

Here are some suggestions:

• All traders handle food. Hence, the basic requirement is that it must be made compulsory for all food handlers – from lorry drivers who deliver the produce to the one who does the packing – to get necessary vaccinations and inoculations.
• All foreigners employed by the traders must be properly documented – work permits, health screenings, etc.
• The system of pajak or leasing of stalls and licences to third parties must be made illegal and punishable. In short, they must be owner-operated and any breach should lead to revocation of licence.
• Any trader caught employing undocumented workers should have his licence revoked and be prosecuted. No two ways on this.
• All stalls should be identified with a number that is displayed prominently. This will enable customers to easily identify the stall should they make a breach.
• Each stall must be fitted with taps and a washbasin for fresh running water to periodically wash his hands and clean the stall to maintain its hygiene. Recycling used water must be banned.
• Each stall must have a proper bin to dispose entrails, innards, etc. No putting in plastic bags or pushing it to the floor.
• Appropriate personal hygiene facilities for washing and drying of hands, liquid soap, paper towels should be provided at strategic places in the market for customers.
• Food contact surfaces should be in good condition and be easy to clean and disinfect. Surfaces should be smooth, washable, corrosion-resistant and non-toxic.
• The garbage must be taken away for disposal
• After closing time each day, each trader must be compelled to clean (with detergent) his own stall and its surrounding including the walkways.
• The council supplement this cleaning up with periodic cleaning with jets of water to clear the grime and oil on the floor.   

(This list is not exhaustive and can be amended or revised as and when the need arises or with additional input from the public)

Some of the comments to anticipate from the council, detractors and some of the traders would be: “Difficult; not doable; they will resist; it will cost a lot of money.”

The MBPJ is the licencing and enforcement authority. It is armed with the principal legislation like the Food Act and several supplementary municipal regulations and bylaws. If there are insufficient or do not cover certain issues, promulgating bylaws should never be an issue.

The issue of funds and lack of it is utter bunkum. Everyone knows the council is over-staffed. (Its public relations department has 28 staff – a larger workforce than similar departments in PLCs and GLCs!)

Never mind, let us not touch ratepayers’ funds. It is not known how many traders operate, but using a conservative estimate of 100, with each contributing RM1 a day will be more than enough.

RM100 a day is enough to introduce these facilities and to cover its maintenance. If additional funds are needed, just take it from other departments’ allocations because we don’t need fancy streetlights and road signs.

Besides, any leftover monies should be channelled for a closed-circuit system for safety and protection of all the users – traders and customers. If need be, there should be a substantial allocation from the council.

Then it all boils down to the most challenging task – to enforce the law. It is no use sending enforcement officers or health inspectors just to walk around making hand or eye signals or formulating new methodologies for bribes and inducements.

Strict enforcement is the only way to make this whole plan succeed. Neither can it be a one-off thing. It must be done every day – until the traders realise that they can no longer go back to the bad old days.

Any breach would mean a temporary suspension and depending on the severity, even a revocation of the licence. This would send a message that the council means business.

If these practices are implemented and then fine-tuned, they could be incorporated in all wet markets in the council’s jurisdiction; then to those in other districts and later on a national scale.

Sounds interesting? Yes because you and I would like to go to market assured that we not only get fresh produce but to know that we are shopping in a safe and hygienic environment.

What about it, councillors? While you are deliberating on approvals for high-rise condominiums and nightspots, just spend some time considering these proposals. 

Asking too much? No, they are doable with just the will and determination to start a new order – a system that operates within the law for the benefit of the people.

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R NADESWARAN has been a regular at wet markets from his days in school and sees the MCO as an opportunity to put right so many wrongs he had come across. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com - Mkini

✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH

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