SANDAKAN: A new Tamu Desa or village market here is moving rural traders off exposed roadsides, giving them a safer place to sell under shelter from rain and searing heat.
The RM200,000 facility at Kampung Kitagas, Ulu Dusun, Batu 26, provides a dedicated trading space for residents from about 14 surrounding villages.
For 58-year-old housewife Winnie Emus, it has also given her the chance to try selling at a tamu for the first time.
Winnie, who lives about half an hour away in Kampung Jaya Bakti, said her village does not have a tamu of its own.
She sells fruits and vegetables she grows herself, as well as second-hand clothes.
“For someone doing this for the first time, I think it is quite good. For those of us in the villages, it also gives others an opportunity,” she said.
The Tamu Desa Kitagas was built under the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Ministry’s Tamu Desa programme and completed in June.
As of August, 134 Tamu Desa projects involving RM30.6mil had been completed and were operational across Sabah.
Koperasi Usahawan Libaran Sabah Berhad chairman Dr Peter Naintin said the Kitagas project came about after the cooperative visited more than 50 villages in Libaran to identify ways to improve economic opportunities for rural communities.
He said many traders, particularly around Ulu Dusun, had been operating along roadsides where their safety and comfort were a concern.
“We found that many businesses here, especially in Ulu Dusun, were operating along the roadside, and we felt their safety and comfort were not ideal.
“So we worked with the Sandakan Municipal Council to identify the entrepreneurs and bring them together in one area,” he said.
Peter said the facility could currently serve residents from about 14 villages and hoped more Tamu Desa could eventually be developed in the area.
Kampung Kitagas resident Harry Boni, 51, said the facility gave villagers and those from neighbouring areas a place to sell their local products.
“I feel this is also an opportunity for people from this village and neighbouring villages who have local products, such as agricultural produce or food,” he said.
Harry said a tamu had not operated in the area for about 20 years.
Although modest in size, the facility can also be used for various community activities, including meetings, government programmes and local celebrations.
Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III and state Industrial Development, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick said most of the traders he had encountered during visits to tamu were women.
“From what I have seen on the ground at these tamu, most or almost all of those selling are women and mothers.
“That is why this is our gift to the mothers who trade. We give them greater comfort.
“Although there may still be room for improvement, at least when it rains they do not get wet, and when it is hot they do not feel the heat as much as before,” he said after officiating the facility on Friday (Sept 18).
Ewon also announced another RM200,000 from his ministerial special allocation next year to further improve the Kitagas facility.
He hoped the Tamu Desa initiative, which began in 2024, would continue under Budget 2027 so similar facilities could be provided to more rural communities in Sabah.
