Better organisation for Selangau Bazaar

Lau (gesturing) explaining to hawkers on the need to make the market more orderly place for their activity.

SIBU: During the weekdays, the Selangau Bazaar, about 80 minutes drive from here will transform into a “cowboy town” when the drivers of trucks and heavy vehicles stop to refuel and buy food and drinks.

On weekends, it is another scenario altogether when large number of natives occupy every corner of the bazaar to sell their jungle produce.

The Bazaar falls under the Sibu Rural District Council’s (SRDC) jurisdiction.

It is the second largest settlement under the council after Sibujaya.

A team of seven councillors from SRDC led by Deputy Chairman Robert Lau spent almost a day looking at how best to organise the bazaar.

“Our immediate issues are the huge numbers of weekend traders.

“We need to find a better location for them so that they don’t take over the five-foot ways and the roadsides,” said SRDC Chairman Sempurai Petrus.

Lau (centre) having a drink at a coffeeshop in Selangau that is a favourite pastime for residents in the area.

Sempurai said SRDC has a proper market place for traders by the riverbank, which if better managed could accommodate some if not all of these weekend traders.

“We also want to tidy up the bazaar in conjunction with Pesta Selangau which will be held from December 1 to 4,” he said.

The council, he added wants the bazaar to be cleaner and more orderly especially the area behind the Pasar Tamu (native market) facing the river.

It will also be improving the road and traffic direction signs in the area.

The uniqueness of Selangau is the transformation of the bazaar during the weekends, especially during the morning hours.

The bazaar will be flooded with weekend tamu traders selling all kinds of items ranging from jungle produce to handphones and electrical gadgets.

The traders serve the workers from the surrounding oil palm plantations and travellers along the Sibu-Bintulu trunk road.