Abun Sui: Allow fruit, vegetable distributors to travel between 7pm and 7am
KUCHING: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak head of information and communications Abun Sui Anyit is appealing to the National Security Council (NSC) to allow fruit and vegetable distributors to move between districts from 7pm until 7am during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
He said most wholesalers have to travel to several districts to distribute the produce to shops and retailers in the evening and wee hours of the day.
“Several days ago, I received a phone call from a representative of the fruit and vegetable distributors in Sarawak requesting the government to allow them to move between 7pm and 7am between the districts.
“This is because their customers are located in several districts. For example between Sarikei district and Sibu/Bintulu,” he said through a press statement yesterday.
He added the police and other authorities can grant interdistrict travel permits from 7am to 7pm but not permission for inter-district movement between 7pm and 7am.
“That’s the reason why I appeal to the NSC to consider allowing fruit and vegetable distributors to be allowed to travel inter-district from 7pm to 7am,” he said.
Abun said the produce has to reach the markets early in the morning for the retailers to sell them while they are still fresh.
“The allowed time for now – 7am to 7pm – is unrealistic for fruit and vegetable distributors as they will get stuck in jams during the timeframe, where roads are usually congested,” he said.