A CLAIM circulating on social media suggests that every food stall operating inside an eatery in Johor Baru will be slapped with a RM500 charge next year.
The claim has spread quickly online, leaving many small food traders in the city wondering what it could mean for their businesses.
But is the city council charging RM500 for every stall operating inside an eatery?
Verdict:
FALSE, BUT
The Johor government has denied that the Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) will charge RM500 for every stall operating inside an eatery next year.
State housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor said the purported charge was untrue.
"It stemmed from a misunderstanding and the matter has gone viral on social media, following a report by a Chinese daily," said Mohd Jafni.
He spoke after chairing a meeting on the issue on Oct 2.
The stalls in question are run by individual operators who rent a spot inside an eatery.
Mohd Jafni clarified that MBJB is studying a licensing framework that looks at several aspects, including introducing a stall charge, the size and floor area of the premises and the number of stalls allowed to operate within them.
"The matter is still being studied and no rate has been decided at present," said Mohd Jafni.
Johor Baru mayor Datuk Mohd Haffiz Ahmad said on Oct 1 that MBJB would introduce new licensing requirements for stalls operating within restaurants from Jan 1 next year.
The requirements will include a licence fee for such stalls, with the rate to be determined soon.
"The study is necessary to also address issues involving safety, cleanliness and compliance, including stalls that obstruct pedestrian walkways and those whose oil waste affects drainage systems, posing environmental and safety concerns," said Mohd Jafni.
He assured the public that MBJB would first profile the business premises and subsequently hold engagement sessions with traders' associations and related stakeholders to obtain feedback before any policy was decided.
The engagement exercise would also allow MBJB to identify issues and concerns, including food handlers who had yet to receive the mandatory typhoid vaccination.
"The state government understands that small traders, hawkers and micro-business operators generally do not have high incomes. We do not intend to introduce policies that would suddenly burden them," said Mohd Jafni.
