KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub today reminded Ramadan bazaar traders to ensure that the quality of food items sold is kept at a certain standard.
He said the bazaar traders have also been told to adhere to regulations such as properly displaying prices of food items for sale.
“If their food quality is good and tastes delicious, for sure it is an attraction for future sales,” Salahuddin told reporters during a press conference at the Parliament.
“We are concerned with this as these traders... they are not just Ramadan bazaar traders, but also night market traders.
“If there were complaints of price factor, in terms of profit-making, it is due to the dependency of type of food and beverages, weather, bazaar location, parking space, the price fluctuation of raw ingredients, and finally the rental of the bazaar space,” he added.
He also said that if consumers find bad-quality food items, they can channel their complaints to his ministry.
“However, the power to take action on these traders actually falls under the Health Ministry. But consumers can still send their complaints to us, and we can pass it on to the Health Ministry,” he said adding that in a survey conducted by his Ministry on traders, findings include requests to bring down rental fares of Ramadhan bazaar space.
In recent news reports, the Ramadan bazaar traders have indicated their reason for raising prices, they include factors such as costly ingredients and rental of bazaar space.
