Perak mulls over allowing Ramadan bazaars at mosques

Menteri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad said the state government would study the proposal first by taking into account various aspects including cleanliness and existing regulations before issuing a permission.

"I understand the purpose of the Perak Islamic Religious Department (JAIPk) to hold a Ramadan bazaar in the mosque compound to attract Muslims who can visit the mosque after Asar prayers to buy food for (breaking the fast) and then go home.

"Usually the Ramadan bazaar licence is issued by the local authorities and we will hold discussions to determine the implementation methods that can be set," he said at a press conference after launching the state-level electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) collection campaign here today.

He said research would also be conducted on the necessary preparations for having such bazaar in terms of canopy, size (of stalls) and parking facilities.

SAARANI-RAMADAN BAZAAR 2 (LAST) IPOH

"Not all mosques are suitable to hold Ramadan bazaars and we place them under the purview of local authorities because it involves hygiene and garbage collection which will invite flies if cleanliness is not maintained.

"So we will study the proposal. We do not want too many Ramadan bazaars everywhere in order the cleaning process can be carried out easily and so on," he explained.

The JAIPk Mosque Management Division, via a letter issued on Tuesday, encouraged mosques in the state to hold Ramadan bazaars in their respective compounds.

Meanwhile, Saarani said a total of 44.3 tonnes of household e-waste was collected last year and Perak emerged as one of the states that recorded the highest collection under the similar campaign.

In this regard, he said the e-waste collection campaign will be further intensified this year with the more comprehensive involvement of community members through the cooperation of all local authorities.

All e-waste collected will be managed by a company licensed by state Department of Environment, to be recycled and disposed of, while the public has been encouraged to send e-waste to collection centres voluntarily.