KUCHING: Traders at Medan Niaga Satok here had a pleasant surprise when the country’s No. 1 politician Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and wife Puan Sri Noorainee Abdul Rahman came a-calling today (April 2).
One of the famous spots in the city, the market is an ideal platform for farmers, ranchers and fishermen to sell their products.
This is one of the go-to places for city dwellers to get their daily needs and for domestic and foreign tourists to purchase some of the unique products of Sarawak.
During his 40-minute visit, the prime minister had the opportunity to interact with the traders.
Muhyiddin also visited the traders at ‘Benteng’ eateries where he took a quick bite of the local kuih-muih (confectionary).
Accompanying him was Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
Also present were Senior Minister of Works Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof; Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi; Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan; state Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian; International Trade and Industry, Industry Terminal and Entrepreneur Development Assistant Minister Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais; Law, State-Federal Relations and Project Monitoring Assistant Minister Datuk Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali; and Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (Fama) Sarawak director Abdul Jaafar Lian.
Medan Niaga Satok was inaugurated by Muhyiddin on Jan 28, 2013 when he was the deputy prime minister then.
It is a joint venture between the Fama and the state government through the Ministry of Local Government and Housing.
Some 1,000 traders are operating at Medan Niaga Satok.
The Covid-19 pandemic has affected there due to the implementation of the movement control order (MCO).
Following this, the federal government with the support of the state government has introduced various aid programmes to assist micro enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Among the assistance are the Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) and Geran Khas Prihatin (GKP).
For the one-off GKP financial assistance, RM93.2 million have been channeled to 31,058 recipients in Sarawak.
As of last month, RM1.8 billion have been channeled under BPN and BPR assistance for about 1.04 million recipients in the state.
