A bird’s eye view of Kuching city’s southern hub, with the MBKS building as its landmark.
KUCHING (July 12): The Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Hawkers and Traders Association welcomes the local authority’s proposal to include proof of Covid-19 vaccination as a licensing condition since some 90 per cent of its members have been inoculated.
Its chairman Tan Choon Yong said the proposal was a good move to ensure that markets and hawker centres were a safe environment for the community.
“As far as licensed holders are concerned, 90 per cent of us have been vaccinated against Covid-19, but the same cannot be said for the assistants.
“We are made to understand that many assistants have not been given the jab. Hence, we have submitted a list to MBKS, seeking assistance to make vaccination arrangements for these assistants,” he told The Borneo Post here today.
According to him, the majority of petty traders have no issue of being administered the doses albeit a few individuals who are not able to take the vaccine due to health issues.
He said they had also come across a few cases where their doctor had recommended them not to take the vaccines.
“They registered for vaccination on MySejahtera too, but were never given an appointment slot, most probably due to the health conditions they had reported,” added Tan, who recently completed both doses.
He believed that most people would see the vaccines as a strong measure to protect themselves and their loved ones amid the pandemic.
As such, he encouraged those who had not been given the jab to register for vaccination as soon as possible to achieve herd immunity.
He said the association was ready to assist should any hawkers or assistants need help with registration for vaccination.
“As for those who are not able to take the vaccines, we will write to MBKS to explain the various situations,” he added.
Last Saturday, Mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng said MBKS proposed that all petty traders and their assistants at markets and hawker centres must produce documentary proof of full vaccination before resuming operations.
He said the proposal, to be submitted to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, would include all visitors and customers to markets and hawker centres under the jurisdiction of MBKS must also produce documentary evidence of full vaccination prior to entry.
He added that such additional policy conditions were proposed due to the challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic and was aimed at protecting the well-being of the whole community.