TEMERLOH: The famous decades-old pekan sehari Temerloh (one-day market) will be inducted into the Malaysian Book of Records (MBOR) for being the longest morning market with the biggest number of traders this weekend.
The one-day market, stretching 1km-long, operates at Lurah Semantan along Sungai Pahang here every Sunday, and to date has some 600 hawkers.
Temerloh Municipal Council's president Suris Mihat said the pekan sehari, which is open between 7am and 1.30pm, has been recognised by MBOR for two achievements.
"Pekan sehari Temerloh is the longest outdoor morning market in the country with a length of 1km and outdoor morning market with the most number of vendors. There are 600 traders.
"The pekan sehari has been held at the current site since the 1940s and I was told that it was earlier operating at another site for more than 40 years before it was moved to the riverbank near Sungai Pahang.
"Based on records, between 5,000 and 8,000 customers will visit the pekan sehari on Sundays including some travelling from neighbouring districts and some as far as the Klang Valley," he said when contacted today.
Suris said the popularity of pekan sehari Temerloh has helped to promote the district and benefited the tourism industry.
"The pekan sehari is popular and people are curious to know what is so special. Besides the economic impact, there has been a surge of visitors who take the opportunity to stay longer and drop by at the one-day market. This is good news for the hotel and homestay businesses.
"One can find a wide range of rare traditional kuih which are no longer sold in other areas, freshwater fish species caught by anglers in Sungai Pahang, a wide range of ulam (raw vegetables and herbs) and vegetables which are grown and sold by the farmers themselves.
"There are also rural products, wooden kitchen utensils and plastic items. Customers can find almost all the cooking items at the one-day market and people do not mind travelling from far away, including outside Pahang," he said.
Suris said Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail will be present at Lurah Semantan to receive the certificate from MBOR and launch the cashless payment system at the one-day market on Dec 17.
"About 70 per cent of the traders have begun accepting cashless payments through various platforms and we hope to achieve 100 per cent soon. Agrobank will be assisting them with the cashless initiatives at pekan sehari Temerloh," he said.
Meanwhile, a regular customer at the pekan sehari, Khirrul Nirwan Bahaudin, 42, said most of the vendors are those from surrounding villages who display their goods for sale, and some even bring their products in boats.
"Not all the items are displayed on tables...some are arranged on canvas sheets which is spread on the road. Visitors can find some of the rare types of food and some do not even know that such dishes exist in Pahang," he said.
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