KUALA LUMPUR: To stem the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus, Cabinet has decided that Ramadan bazaars in Malaysia will only operate online as ‘e-bazaars’ this year.
Senior Minister (Security Cluster) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the new business model will operate based on existing food delivery systems via e-hailing companies, to replace the traditional Ramadan bazaar.
He said the e-bazaar will be the only model allowed to operate in the country, while alternative proposals will be studied further.
“The second model is based on a drive-thru concept, but Cabinet agreed that this requires further scrutiny due to concerns that it would lead to a high volume of cars on the roads,” he said.
The other proposal involves ordering food online and collecting them at designated food stalls.
“We believe that the other two proposals would result in having too many people going out at the same time. This will make it difficult for police, as people will use this as an excuse to violate the Movement Control Order (MCO),” he said at a press conference in Putrajaya here, today.
Ismail Sabri said it was also proposed that consumers conduct their grocery shopping only in the morning to avoid crowding in shopping areas.
He said the government has also issued a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Ramadan bazaars to be adopted by all states so that the operation of annual food markets could be standardised nationwide.