Ahmad (second right) has been selling murtabak in the area for the past 35 years. At right is Muhammad Sherhan.
DESPITE having to wade in knee-deep water, it was business as usual for traders at Taman Sri Nanding Ramadan bazaar in Hulu Langat, Selangor when a flash flood struck the area about two weeks ago.
“This is how popular our Ramadan bazaar is with the community,” said Taman Sri Nanding Residents Association (RA) president Muhammad Sherhan Nizam Abdul Aziz, 37.
According to residents, the Ramadan bazaar has been held here annually since 1991.
It is the largest in the Dusun Tua constituency, with 84 stalls selling a variety of evergreen favourites.
This year marked the first time the RA, which represented an area of some 1,500 houses, organised the bazaar with approval from Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj).
Traders at Taman Sri Nanding Ramadan bazaar continuing to operate their stalls even when a flash flood struck the area about two weeks ago. — Photos courtesy of Taman Sri Nanding Residents Association.
Muhammad Sherhan said the bazaar drew visitors from Pangsun to Taman Suntex in the Dusun Tua constituency as well as Taman Muda, Taman Mulia Jaya and Taman Putra in Ampang.
He said the bazaar was most crowded and congested during the first week of Ramadan, so much so some people even fainted.
Volunteer marshalls from RA’s committee said visitor count could reach up to 3,000 people daily in just four hours.
Its popularity stems from its consistency – 60% of the bazaar’s traders have been selling their delicacies there for at least two decades.
One of them, murtabak seller Ahmad Kassim, 55, who has been operating in the area for the past 35 years.
“I have been here even before Muhammad Sherhan started schooling.
“He loves my beef murtabak with pickled onions and curry,” said Ahmad.
Culinary attractions at this bazaar include kuih jongkong (steamed rice cake in sugar syrup wrapped in banana leaf) and wajik (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and gula melaka).
“Kuih jongkong is a Hulu Langat original and you see this being sold everywhere in this district during fasting month,” said Muhammad Sherhan.
The bazaar is the largest in the Dusun Tua constituency, with 84 stalls selling a variety of evergreen favourites.
RA committee members Roslen Abdullah and Rosli Abdullah, both 62, were on hand to ensure all traders adhere to conditions set by MPKj.
“The biggest challenge was in assigning the lots to the various traders. Naturally, everyone wanted to be close to the bazaar entrance,” said Roslen.
“Luckily, the location of this Ramadan bazaar is also where the weekly night market is held and many of the traders at the night market and nearby stalls had also applied for bazaar lots.
“So, we decided that the night market traders would go back to their own lots while the stall traders would occupy the lots close to their original stall location,” he said.
To ensure visitors could have variety, traders selling the same items were put at least three stalls apart.
One feature the bazaar organisers are proudest of is a stall run by eight volunteers, most of them students from Institut Kemahiran Tinggi Belia Negara (IKTBN), to collect unsold food.
The initiative, which is part of the MySaveFood @ Ramadan programme, is monitored by Hulu Langat Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) Office.
Volunteers would check, weigh and label the unsold food which would be then sent to the nearby Surau Al Munir in Jalan Mutiara 8, Taman Sri Nanding, as well as taken home by IKTBN students.
The recipients would also be reminded to consume the food and beverages within two hours of receiving them.
Based on data from seven days, the highest types of unsold food at this bazaar were packet drinks, fried noodles and local kuih.
In total, 310kg of unsold food was saved from the landfills.
Hulu Langat KBS officer Suhaila Mohd Saat said MPKj is considering placing booths for the MySaveFood @ Ramadan programme at all 39 Ramadan bazaars under its purview next year.
