Inform before enforcing

Ting says retailers should have been told of the ban of pig, dog bristles brushes before seizing them

MIRI: The government should engage and inform shopkeepers and retailers of new laws or regulations on prohibition of sales of certain goods before enforcing them.

As they were enacted for the good of the people and not to create confusion, thus should be enforced with prudence and sensitivity, argued SUPP secretary- general Datuk Sebastian Ting Chew Yew.

Ting was responding to the crackdown on hardware shops and retail outlets in the state by enforcement officers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism ( K PDNKK) t o che ck for paintbrushes made from pig or dog bristles.

The operations were carried out under the Trade Descriptions Order ( Item Made of Any Part of Pig or Dog) 2013, which provides for punishment under Section 28 of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011.

This regulation requires items made from pig or dog parts to be placed separately from other items in a shop and clearly labelled as from porcine or canine origin.

Ting, who i s also Piasau assemblyman, said al l this should be preceded by sufficient publicity and public awareness of new regulations imposed by the government.

“The government must think

Give them some time to adjust by inculcating awareness among them and not penalising and impounding goods. Datuk Sebastian Ting Chew Yew, Piasau assemblyman

of the interests of all people - the shopkeepers, consumers, our Muslim brethren, and others - and that is why it should engage and inform chambers of commerce, associations and the people before the law is enforced,” he said.

Concurring with Ting, Miri Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( MCCCI) chairman Lee Khoi Yun appealed on behalf of hardware shop owners and retailers to the authorities to give them time and space to comply with this regulation.

He said the retailers were in the dark about the regulation despite being in this business for decades until the authorities swooped on them this week.

He said that the traders should be sufficiently briefed on the regulation and not immediately punished for their ignorance.

“Give them some time to adjust by inculcating awareness among them and not penalising and impounding goods. They will certainly comply now that they know it is required by law,” he said. Turn to page 4, Col 5