Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin launching the rodents control campaign at wet market UTC Ipoh.
IPOH: Public wet markets in the city can become a tourist attraction similarly in foreign countries, says Datuk Rumaizi Baharin (pic).
The Ipoh mayor said the markets could become a location where tourists look for food and souvenirs.
"If we want to become a developed city and to attract tourists, cleanliness is a must.
"In countries like Australia or in the Europe, their markets are often visited by tourists looking for local delicacies and also souvenirs," he told a press conference after launching a rodent control campaign at the Amanjaya Chicken Market here on Saturday (June 23).
"I would like to encourage this, so it must start with cleanliness," he added.
On the campaign, which started on June 6 and will run until Aug 31, Rumaizi said three public markets - the Ipoh Central Market, Pasir Pinji Market and Pasir Puteh Market - have been selected as the first batch of premises for the campaign.
"We will then expand it to other city council-owned wet markets and food courts.
"The campaign is aimed at preventing various diseases caused by rodents like leptospirosis, plague, typhus and other various viruses and bacteria," he said.
Since the start of the campaign, a total of 91 rodents have been caught, he said.
As of May this year, the city council has set up 747 traps and caught 117 rodents at all its assets, including wet markets and food courts, he added.
