Gombak Ramadan bazaar ordered to close for four days over SOP non-compliance

PETALING JAYA: The Greenwood Ramadan bazaar in Gombak has been ordered by the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) to close for four days, after standard operating procedure (SOP) was not complied with.

MPS said that the bazaar would be closed from April 22 to 25, after taking into account the welfare of traders who had prepared their food for sale on Wednesday (April 21).

The bazaar, located in Taman Greenwood, has 188 registered traders this year. It is organised and managed by the Zone 3 Residents Committee (JKP).

"Among the offences were failure to ensure physical distancing (of 1m) between stalls as well lack of control for entry and exit points, including not using queue numbers and one-way traffic flow.

"Some traders were also found selling other items besides cooked food and drinks," MPS corporate communications director Mohamad Zin Masoad said in a statement Wednesday.

He said the notice on the bazaar's temporary closure was issued under Section 18(1)(f) of the Infectious Diseases Prevention and Control Act and was handed over to a representative of Zone 3 JKP at MPS' Licensing Department office Wednesday.

"Our Licensing Department officers also explained the SOP and measures the organiser needs to comply with before they are allowed to reopen the bazaar," said Mohamad Zin.

He added that MPS had directed all Ramadan bazaar organisers and coordinators to implement additional SOP to manage the crowd, namely getting visitors to use queue number cards, creating one-way traffic flows as well as not allowing children aged below 12 and senior citizens aged 65 and above to enter.

"To ensure compliance with SOP, MPS will continue to monitor Ramadan bazaars under our jurisdiction," said Mohamad Zin.

"We would also like to remind traders and visitors to not be complacent and adhere to the SOPs set by the authorities to control the Covid-19 pandemic."

There are 31 Ramadan bazaars under MPS' jurisdiction this year. These bazaars located in Gombak (nine), Selayang (nine), Kepong (five) and Rawang (eight) are managed by different organisers, including JKP, residents associations and other clubs/ organisations.