Segamat
district is my wife’s hometown. When returning to Segamat from Kajang we
usually go through the North-South Expressway (PLUS) Project or the Kajang–Seremban Highway (LEKAS).
Either through PLUS or LEKAS, we will usually stop at a food court in Kota,
Negeri Sembilan.
Eighty
percent of the stalls in the food court were opened, the other stalls, I didn't
know when they are open. We used to reach the food court at lunchtime.
This
is our route went going back to her hometown when we married until now.
Previously there was no food court and rows of shops. At that time there were
only wooden stalls where all the hawkers sold lemang[1].
Every day they sell lemang.
Perhaps
based on developing the area to become more of a visitor attraction, the local
authority has built a row of shops behind these lemang stalls. When the
shop line is completed, lemang hawkers are not allowed to open stalls in
the old place. Maybe the government hopes they'll rent this new shop. It seems
that they cannot afford to rent a shop because over time there will be no more lemang
sellers in the area. The area is no longer lively and can no longer be
attributed to the lemang shopping place.
Lemang hawkers
are still there but not in their old areas. If we want to buy lemang, through the old road from
Seremban we will meet some stalls selling lemang
before reaching the old hawkers' area. Passing through PLUS and exiting the
toll we can see some lemang hawker
stalls from the roundabout after the toll, heading towards Taboh Naning’s Mosque also known as
Dato' Dol Said’s Mosque.
The
government is also building food courts in line with rows of shops. I like to
stop by this food court for lunch or just buy a packed dish to bring back to
Segamat. They sell Negeri Sembilan
dishes. The dishes are masak lemak kuning[2]
which are cooked with various dishes and various vegetables. I do like to eat masak
lemak kuning. It's delicious. I don't miss the opportunity to stop by this
food court every time I went back.
When
I stop by this food court, I will use the restroom here. There was something I
noticed on the way to the bathroom, in one corner I saw a group of used bottles
lying there.
Recently
in December 2021, I stopped by to use the bathroom, and I still saw the
bottles. It's as if no one noticed the existence of the unused bottles and for
years been around that corner.
The
question is not the bottles that have been stuck in that corner for years, but
why are there no traders who do business in the food court, who feel the bottle
should be thrown away so the area will look more pleasant to the eye.
What
about the bathroom, there is no denying it is clean, but still not enough
because its interior equipment such as sinks and water pipes are not very well
taken care of. I once saw workers sweep and mop the dining areas floor.
Stopping
by the food court I always compare it with other food courts, especially the
food courts on the highways. All motorists know how clean the food courts are
on the highway. There are always cleaning workers either in the bathroom or
dining area.
The
cleanliness of a food court will attract more customers. Isn't it a business’s function
to attract more customers so that they can make more money? Don’t the traders want
to do something to keep their place clean like a highway food court?
Such
food courts are under the jurisdiction of local authorities, but I have never
seen any workers come to wash regularly. Maybe they have, but when I stopped
by, I didn't see them.
What
if there's no action from the authorities. Will, they only remain silent and do
nothing. Do they not desire to do anything? They will benefit from the
cleanliness of the areas.
Don’t
hope so much from the local authority, if the authority doesn’t take any
action, the traders end up losing. They should do something while waiting for
the authorities to act.
They
can set up committees to maintain food court cleanliness. Each stall can
contribute a sum of money. Look for nearby villagers who don't have jobs, and hire
them as sanitary workers. It can at least help the villagers.
Its
management can take for example the management of apartments. They have
legislation to hold a joint management body, which is responsible for managing
their homes in terms of cleanliness and so on. Mandatory financial
contributions are given by apartment owners based on the area of their
respective residences. This management body consists of strata owners and
management entities appointed by residents through their management bodies.
The
authorities can help by contributing certain amounts to the management body
that is formed or may simply reduce the stall rental rate. Authorities should
monitor food court management.
Many
food courts are also visited by tourists from other countries, cleanliness will
give a good or bad image.
I
tried to open the District Council website, I found that the authorities do not
have daily maintenance services. They only have maintenance services as needed
or just massive repairs. Hence this further indicates that traders in the food
court must move on their own so that their customers grow.
Translated by Microsoft Translator and Grammarly App.
[2] Masak lemak kuning is coconut milk with kunyit and cook with fish or beef or vegetablesbles
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