Jong talks to hawkers and petty traders at Padungan area.
KUCHING (Aug 30): Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching Branch urged the relevant authority to expedite dispensing financial assistance to petty traders and hawkers under the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) 6.0 package.
“As of Aug 25, about half of the hawkers and eatery operators in Padungan had received the first payment from the Sarawak government.
“However, some elderly hawkers who are not familiar with the inquiry process do not know the status of their applications. Many hawkers hope the financial aid can be automatic rather than having to go through the hassle,” said Jong Yean Pin of SUPP Kuching Branch in a statement after a recent visit to some hawkers in the area.
Jong gathered from eatery operators around Padungan area that their business has been badly affected by the ban on dine-in.
“Some business operators have expressed their desire to close down due to the severe interruptions in their operations, coupled with the differential treatment by the authorities with no end in sight for Covid-19.
“They said that to effectively contain the virus, all must have total control in every business rather than unilaterally ban dine-in,” he added, saying they questioned long queues at banks, the inability to seal our border to effectively stop illegals and the many overseas flights coming in daily.