JOHOR BARU, March 27 — The Johor Baru City Council (MBJB) said it is not responsible for the high food prices at the Taman Suria Ramadan Bazaar here, which recently made the rounds on social media.
Johor Baru mayor Datuk Mohd Noorazam Osman said the issue had nothing to do with the city council as the bazaars are not organised under the jurisdiction of local authorities.
He pointed out that MBJB had no authority to act on traders’ pricing as the bazaars are organised by private parties.
“Therefore, this is not within our jurisdiction to take action.
“Such issues are under the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry (KPDN) who are empowered to act on matters related to pricing,” he told reporters after chairing MBJB’s council meeting at Menara MBJB in Bukit Senyum here today.
Mohd Noorazam was commenting on claims that the reason for the pricey dishes sold at the bazaars was due to MBJB’s high rental for traders.
Earlier this week, several social media posts said that the pricey dishes had turned them off Ramadan bazaars in Johor Baru, which is traditionally a highlight for many Malaysians during the fasting month.
On MBJB’s related role, Mohd Noorazam said the city council had approved 56 Ramadan bazaar locations for this year and implemented monitoring to ensure that traders comply with the terms and conditions.
He said results of MBJB’s inspection revealed that 34 traders had not had their typhoid injections while 31 traders were compounded for failing to adhere to the required food handling by-laws.
“I would like to remind all food traders to ensure that their respective food handlers receive the required typhoid injections, which is important in the food business,” he said, adding that those without the injection run the risk of typhoid fever transmission that can be spread through contaminated food.
On Tuesday, several Tik Tok posts claimed that food prices at a particular Ramadan bazaar in the city centre here were overtly expensive.
The posts highlighted the price for burgers at RM30, Roti John at RM40 and a palm-sized grilled fish at RM40, with the addition of a 50 sen charge for every plastic bag.
Those who shared their experiences at the bazaar alleged that food prices in the city centre here were high due to traders targeting Singapore customers who have better spending power due to the exchange rate.