Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Alvie Cheng
THE Penang Island City Council (MBPP) will not allow the slaughtering of chickens in wet markets to ensure the premises are hygienic.
MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the slaughtering of chickens would be held only at centres in the mainland and then the dressed chicken would be sent over to a distribution centre near the Batu Lancang market on the island.
“We don’t allow the slaughtering of chickens but it is still happening. We provide an alternative solution first. We want Penang to become a cleaner city,” said Yew after chairing a full council meeting at City Hall today.
Yew said 18 markets on the island would have to abide by the ruling that would be strictly enforced from next year. They include the famous Chowrasta Market, which Yew said he was sad to see its dirty condition despite MBPP spending a lot of money refurbishing it.
“MBPP doesn’t have the space to operate a slaughter house on the island because it requires a few acres of land to have the facility for loading and unloading,” he said.
Admitting that traders and consumers would have different views, Yew said that in the first place, the slaughtering of chickens should not have happened in the markets as it is dirty.
“It’s going to be a long process because this activity has been going on for a long time,” he said, adding that the revoking of licence would only be a last resort.
On another matter, Yew urged 156 of the 172 kindergartens and nursery centres identified on the island to register with MBPP.
He said that so far only 16 of them had submitted their applications despite MBPP giving 90% discount on processing fees and the submission of a simple plan of the premises.
“They don’t need to engage an architect. All they need is to submit a simple document to obtain an operating licence,” said Yew, who added that MBPP could take legal action against the unregistered ones.
“The operators have until Sept 14 to legalise their business. So, I have been urging them to do so since we began this exercise in 2016.”
Those who want more information can contact Encik Shaari (017-4247788).
On the state government’s call for open tender for the car parking system, Yew said MBPP was also at the same time seeking feedback from the public on what sort of smart car parking system Penangites wanted.
“The tender was advertised on July 13th and will close in a month. Our survey forms have been sent out and the closing date is at the end of September. We hope that we can get a system which suits the Penang context.”
Yew said MBPP is currently working with an NGO from Britain to help solve the problem of stray dogs in their trap-neuter-release programme.
Initially, MBPP had identified a site in Relau but Yew said due to high infrastructure cost, it has decided to refurbish one of its containers in Sungai Pinang to contain 60 cages, up from 10 now. Currently they are able to handle 15 dogs per week.
In the MBPP meeting proper, Penang Forum representative Dr Chee Heng Leng urged MBPP to enforce a ban on single-use plastics, including plastic straws, plastic cutlery, plastic wrapping, cling wrap, non-woven shopping bags, plastic and styrofoam containers, cotton buds and water bottles.
She suggested three other measures to be taken: (i) public education and outreach, (ii) provision of alternatives, and (iii) a system of enforcement – strict penalties and the capacity and political will to execute them.