Ramadan bazaar horror: Netizens rue 'ant laksa', 'charred murtabak' By Amiera Solihan

Malaysiakini : One thing that all Malaysians look forward to during the fasting month is buying a variety of delicacies at Ramadan bazaars. But just a week into the month, “horror” stories about shopping at these bazaars are already haunting social media.

Sampai nya hati orang berniaga makanan macam ni masa bulan puasa.

Ini adalah thread peniaga yang &/&*#^#* pic.twitter.com/nmKGdJmen2

— cikalicious 🌻 (@whyshiqa) March 27, 2023

Kredit:owner pic.twitter.com/NSHnNyMmnb

— cikalicious 🌻 (@whyshiqa) March 27, 2023

Besides complaining about expensive items, consumers are also sharing stories of ant-ridden laksa (above), as well as burnt and spoilt food, among others.

One netizen lamented spending RM17 for half a portion of rice with lemon chicken and vegetables at a bazaar in Shah Alam - an experience that put the person off the idea of purchasing food at bazaars ever again.  Another netizen, Sufiyatunnur, 26, lost her appetite after she found dead ants in her laksa, which she bought for RM6 at a bazaar in Hulu Langat, Selangor.

"Every Ramadan, we will hear stories like this. I'm a trader at a bazaar too, but we must ensure that the quality of hygiene of our food is always taken care of. "This is especially when things are much costlier now. Pity the customers who spend money to find they have paid for spoilt, unhygienic food," Sufiyatunnur told Malaysiakini.

LimeGuppy5931 : This is DAP, Christian and Jews' fault.

OCT : All these complaints about bad food have no impact on the traders as no traders have been penalised or fined. Everything is semuanya ok. These traders main objective is to reap big profit at the bazaar. Quality and hygiene are not their priorities.

The Govt is treating all these complaints with kid gloves. When there is no enforcement and lack of enforcing officers, nobody especially the traders care. The buyers are collateral damages. Traders are not interested in repeat customers.

They know they are untouchable as they are abang adek with the officers. After all traders are there to cari makan. It boils down to the Govt that they don't do the ground work, enforcement, hygiene facilities and proper infrastructure. Fail to plan is plan to fail.

PurpleGopher1703 : if u open a restaurant, u will need to have typhoid jab, pass food hygiene course, annual visits by MoH, specified work tops, chillers, food storage container , waste traps , pest control etc etc .. then suddenly anyone can be a bazaar vendor without any food handling restrictions ..

My2cen : Yeap -- high standard imposed on genuine restaurant operators, and no standard for the opportunists!

World Citizen : The Malaysian culture of eating cheap food at roadside stalls and in haphazard places like Ramadan bazaars and even in unclean restaurants must stop. The food served in these places are unhygienic, dirty and unhealthy.

Malaysian health authorities have a long way to go in ensuring hygiene and cleanliness in the local food service industry and the Malaysian people are very ignorant of what food hygiene and cleanliness all about.

Food stalls and restaurants must stop the practice of displaying the food openly that is exposed to dust, people sneezing & spitting while talking, flies, cockroaches, ants, rodents, etc. We need to learn much from advanced countries.

The health officers should be checking the kitchens regularly and not close both eyes to all these bad practices. Now we also have the added factor of the food delivery system as people do not know how the food is cooked, packed and what happens in the course of delivery. These are not the signs of an emerging advanced economy and society but typically third world.

Read all the 40 comments and increasing here on poor hygiene......