MELAKA: The Melaka Historic City Council (MBMB) has proposed for an ‘uptown’ business method to be established on the vehicle path outside the Medan Samudera building, to help food and handicraft traders in the building conduct their business during the 54-hour vehicle-free zone road closure.
MBMB mayor, Datuk Shadan Othman, said that the move is seen as more relevant, and makes it easier for traders to promote and introduce their products directly to tourists or visitors walking along the route.
“MBMB cannot implement this proposal alone, but instead requires the cooperation of all traders in Medan Samudera… we hope that representatives from traders can discuss with MBMB regarding its implementation.
“We have implemented this method around the Red Building (Stadthuys), and we can see its effectiveness where the traders involved can also enjoy the economic spillover of the vehicle-free zone road closure,” he told reporters, after the Nusantara Drum Festival 2024 at Dataran MBMB here, last night.
He said that the implementation of the ‘uptown’ will be carried out in an orderly manner, among which the use of uniform umbrellas as well as the cleanliness of the business site is a priority, so as not to spoil the scenery or pollute the tourist hotspot.
He said that, based on the crowd monitoring system installed around Banda Hilir, the average attendance of visitors on foot in the area was 18,000 daily.
Previously, the media reported that about 100 food and handicraft traders in Medan Samudera were still waiting for a response from the state government, regarding their proposal for the vehicle-free zone involving road closure to be shortened from 54 to 18 hours.
The implementation of the vehicle-free zone was previously on Saturday every week, from 6 pm to 12 midnight. It has now been extended to 54 hours, from 6 pm every Friday to midnight Sunday.
The traders hoped that the proposal to shorten the implementation period of the vehicle-free zone could be agreed upon, following claims that business operations in Medan Samudera have been affected since the extension. –Bernama
