By Aida Aziz
IPOH: A total of 51 hawkers from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Recreation Park (Polo Ground) have been officially approved for relocation to a new area known as Saji Sejahtera@Polo.
According to the Secretary of the City Council of Ipoh (MBI), Ahmad Munir Ishak, priority is given to long-standing hawkers over those who arrived later.
“We have been conducting surveys since three years ago with hawkers there, and now we have around 51 hawkers who will be relocated to the new location.
“Those identified are indeed long-standing hawkers, meaning they are always engaged in business and open on weekends.
“This is sufficient to fill the new space, but the issue arises when new hawkers come later.
“If there are vacancies, we will try to place those who are not listed, otherwise, we will attempt to relocate them to nearby areas such as Taman Cempaka and other locations,” he said.
He said so when commenting on rumors regarding hawkers who were said to be unlisted in the new location.
Ahmad Munir added that once the relocation process is complete, MBI will not allow any business activities at the old site.
He stated that action will be taken if there are still hawkers stubbornly conducting business activities there.
Previously, the issue of hawkers in Polo Ground often received negative reactions from the local residents due to severe congestion, especially on weekends and school holidays.
Furthermore, residents around Polo Ground also complained that business activities there somewhat contributed to the problem of irresponsible waste disposal.
