By Aida Aziz
Photo MBI
IPOH: All the ‘car boot sale’ vendors in front of Dataran Bandaraya will soon be relocated to MBI Terrace.
This decision was made after a stakeholder engagement session with the 40 vendors on Friday.
According to a statement from the Ipoh City Council (MBI), the vendors were given time until December 20 to respond to the rental offer provided.
The relocation aims to ensure cleanliness, vibrancy, and safety.
“A total of 44 vendors in front of Dataran Bandaraya, as recorded by the Health and Environment Department, were invited to attend the engagement session.
“The session was managed by MBI’s Facility Management Department at the Main Meeting Room, UTC Perak.
“Out of the 44 vendors, only four were absent,” it said.
The session was chaired by the City Secretary, Ahmad Munir Ishak.
The vendors were also briefed on rental terms, food handling, hygiene, food safety, licensing conditions, and waste disposal.
Following that, they went through a site voting process and were given rental offer letters.
MBI hopes that this relocation effort will help increase the number of viral food tourism spots; attracting more visitors to Ipoh.
Previously, there were many complaints from the public claiming that vendors in the area took up parking spaces meant for public use.
Additionally, some visitors complained that parking by customers buying food and drinks often blocked traffic and caused severe congestion at night.
“Is this a parking area, is it suitable for vending here? I heard that if the public parks here, the vendors will chase them away. It’s hard to park, and it’s always like Padang Polo,” said a netizen.
“If there are no vendors here, would there still be double parking? This isn’t a place for vending, MBI can move them to a more suitable location for business. Don’t pollute places that shouldn’t be used,” said another netizen.