KOTA KINABALU: Tan Sri T.C Goh, the proprietor of the Lido Market has urged the public not to simply jump into conclusion to criticize the so-called long queue and congestion at the Lido and Foh Sang markets, just by looking at photos taken at the sites.
“This is because Lido and Foh Sang markets are the open markets and the public can take photos and videos of the market scenes from various angels, and this can always present a wrong perception to those who were not present at the scene, when the actual situation on site was not what it seemed.
“The scene of long queue at the Lido and Foh Sang markets was actually no different to that in the other supermarkets, except that they were exposed in the open due to the implementation of the crowd-control and social-distancing measures, as required during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period,” he explained.
He was commenting on the reaction and harsh criticisms made by the netizens on photos taken at the two markets, after they were widely circulated in the social media, which subsequently led to the closure of the Foh Sang market by the local authority, last Saturday.
Goh also categorically dismissed the claim and criticism by a certain ex senior civil servant that the situation in Lido Market was getting out of control.
“This was utterly untrue, as I was personally on site to monitor the situation on last Sunday, and everything was in order and under controlled.
“The long queue in the early morning was due to the strict crowd-control and social-distancing measures that we put in place, since the MCO comes into effect.
“We only provide one entrance at the market for the public to go in, and only 10 to 20 persons are allowed in for five-minute duration, and the long queue only lasted for a short period of time.
“We therefore appeal to all quarters, especially those who were not physically present at the scene, to refrain from making wild-and-sweeping criticism against us,” he urged.
He also called on all quarters to better understand the challenging situation that majority of the people are currently experiencing in adjusting to new lifestyle under the MCO, and to refrain from making wild and misleading statements which would only make things worse.
“This is so that the public can continue to have access to the markets for their daily needs,” he reiterated.
Meanwhile, Goh also appealed to the State government to consider re-opening the Foh Sang Market, after reviewing and improving the existing crowd-control and social-distancing measures.
He observed that the congestion at Foh Sang Market was inevitable due to the implementation of the mandatory ‘one car one person’ policy under the MCO, coupled with the fact that Foh Sang commercial center is seriously lacked of parking spaces.
He was nonetheless convinced that such a problem can be overcome by the authority concerned, by implementing a good crowd-control measure.
“The authority concerned should re-open the Foh Sang Market, so that the nearby residents could continue to shop for their essential needs, without having to travel to another place during the MCO period,” he concluded.- or/BNN
