Food buyers standing on wooden pallets to avoid the water puddles on a wet day while queuing for their takeaways at the bazaar. — Photos: SHAARI CHEMAT/The Star
THE Ramadan bazaar at the Shah Alam Stadium is the largest in Shah Alam, Selangor, with 200 traders on either side of a 500m stretch of the bazaar located in Section 13.
Though it is likely to be held here for one last time as it has been announced that the stadium will be rebuilt, the bazaar is still as popular as ever.
Operating from 3pm to 7pm daily, hundreds of stall operators beckon customers.
“It is hard work for sure, especially with the weather being so unpredictable,” said a trader who introduced herself as Nuni.
From 3pm to 7pm every day, hundreds of stall operators at the Section 13 Ramadan Bazaar beckon customers.
She was one of the family members operating a curry puff stall popularly known as Karipap Stadium based at the stadium grounds since 2018.
“Business has been good since we started and on a good day, we can sell up to 2,000 pieces,” said Nuni.
She added that most customers preferred to use cashless payment options but would use cash when there were many customers around.
At 4pm on the first weekend of the fasting month, roads around the stadium were already congested and members of the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) were kept busy.
Visitors were directed to ample parking space close to the stadium for an entry fee of RM2.
Hardly any reusable bags or home-brought food containers could be seen, as most visitors opted to use packaging provided by traders.
There were no reminders to encourage customers to bring their own reusable bags and containers, nor were there signs encouraging the public to use face masks.
Despite the Selangor government’s mandate for food and beverage workers to mask up, many did not do so.
A quick inspection also revealed that numerous stalls did not display price tags for their food and drinks.
Most of the customers opted to use packaging provided by traders for convenience.
While there were no Menu Rahmah dishes, a number of traders did offer reasonable prices, from RM4 for a serving of fried noodles (fried kuey teow) to RM5 for chicken or beef murtabak.
Apart from the usual Ramadan bazaar food, notable dishes sold at the Section 13 Ramadan bazaar include grilled horseshoe crabs and lamb shank.
The bazaar at an open-air parking lot is managed by Darul Ehsan Facilities Management Sdn Bhd (DEFM).
When met, DEFM sales and marketing executive Muhammad Shafiq Izzat said traders were not required to offer Menu Rahmah options, although DEFM hoped that 30% of traders would do so soon.
“Notices encouraging the use of reusable bags and food containers would be put up in the coming days.
“We support the government’s campaign to reduce plastic waste but at the same time, we cannot force customers,” he said.
He added that the number of visitors ranged from 7,000 to 50,000 daily.
On traders not displaying prices, he said traders were briefed about the requirement but chose not to do so.
“They are well aware, as it is part of the conditions of applying for a lot. We have informed them of the action that could be taken for ignoring this requirement,” said Shafiq.
