Putrajaya Ramadan bazaars visitors constantly reminded to comply with SOPs

PUTRAJAYA: "Please keep a safe distance, please cooperate and comply with the SOP", enforcement officers of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) and Putrajaya Corporation (PPj) were heard reminding visitors to the Ramadan bazaar in Precinct 3, here, today.

The visitors started flocking to the bazaar as early as 4.30 pm, with all of them were seen complying with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) set such as wearing face masks and checking-in via the MySejahtera application.

They were also spotted queueing up and patiently waiting for their turn to enter the bazaar, in accordance with the capacity allowed at the site, to avoid congestion.

Yesterday, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi, when launching the Op Pantau at the Ramadan bazaar expressed his concern over the lack of SOP compliance at the area.

A Bernama check at the bazaar today found that announcements were made every 30 minutes by enforcement officers so as to remind the visitors to always comply with the SOPs, while children below 12 and senior citizens are not encouraged to visit the bazaar.

Each of the visitors is also constantly reminded to spend about 20 minutes to buy food.

Also seen at the bazaar were personnel from the Royal Malaysia Police, the Malaysian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Malaysian Volunteer Department (Rela).

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba was reported as saying that the MOH received complaints about SOP non-compliance at several Ramadan bazaars throughout the country.

He said the government viewed the matter seriously and did not rule out the possibility of the Ramadan bazaar being closed if there were new clusters originated from bazaar activities.

Meanwhile, Putrajaya district police chief ACP Mohd Fadzil Ali, when met at the bazaar, said he had submitted recommendations to PPj, as part of efforts to improve the SOPs at the bazaar.

Among the recommendations are to limit the number of customers to between five and ten people at popular stalls at any one time and to use a rotation or numbering system to avoid congestion.

Director of Commercial, Business Development and Licensing Division of the PPj Urban Services Department Noor Sita Abbas said she took note of the recommendations submitted and would increase the number of PPj enforcement officers starting tomorrow.

She also said that visitors at the bazaar which as 160 stalls would be limited to 800 people at any one time.

According to her, the number of visitors can reach up to 20,000 people every day except on rainy days.

--BERNAMA