Don't leave it just to the police to ensure Covid-19 SOP compliance at Ramadan bazaars, says S'gor MB

SEPANG: Local authority enforcement officers should exercise their power to limit or close Ramadan bazaars that fail to comply with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP), says Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.

He said the compliance level at the bazaars was heightened with police presence compared to the presence of local council enforcement officers.

“We cannot afford to channel our police resources to monitor the bazaars all the time.

"So, local council enforcement officers must step up to monitor the bazaars to ensure new clusters do not originate from the location, ” he said after visiting Kosmopleks Ramadan Bazaar in Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi, Sepang.

Amirudin said the SOP compliance level at the Kosmopleks Ramadan Bazaar was exemplary, despite having over 100 traders at the site.

He said there was good control of the entry and exit points, as well as having one-way flow.

“The only discomfort is the long queue at the entry points, a new norm we have got to accept since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, ” he said on Monday (April 26).

Accompanying him during the visit, among others, were Sepang district officer Mohammad Zain A. Hamid and Sepang Municipal Council president Datuk Abdul Hamid Hussain.

Commenting on the closure of the Greenwood Ramadan bazaar for four days beginning April 22 for poor SOP compliance, he said the action was not done in a haste but only after the organiser failed to heed the advice of the Selayang Municipal Council.

He said the bazaar has since opened and compliance level was satisfactory.

“There were other bazaars that had poor SOP compliance level too but have improved upon advice by the respective local authorities.

“In my last briefing with the heads of local authorities, I stressed on the need for better control on the entrance and exit, as well as the one-way traffic flow.

“If there were poor compliance levels, we will impose additional conditions and call the organiser to tighten the SOP, ” he said, adding that forcing closure was only the last resort.