Several people believed to be foreigners are seen rummaging through the garbage next to an Alam Flora bin to select good looking or undamaged vegetables as a cleaner (right) walks past.
Business is proceeding as usual for illegal traders who seem unperturbed by the fuss over the selling of discarded vegetables scavenged from rubbish bins at the Selayang Wholesale Market in Kuala Lumpur.
Little appears to have been done to stop the people from rummaging through the bins and selling what they find to the public.
StarMetro visited the site Monday last week at 11am and found people believed to be foreigners picking up discarded vegetables by the large disposal bins behind the wholesale market.
People were seen picking the best of the discarded produce and throwing away the rest.
Lorries were lined at the unloading bays near the rubbish area for workers to unload goods.
Kuala Lumpur Vegetable Wholesalers Association president Chong Tek Keong said no action appeared to have been taken by the authorities yet.
“More people sort through the vegetables at the rubbish area from 11am to 3pm as more vegetables are discarded.
“I suspect some of the scavengers are hired by night market traders, who also get vegetables from the market,” he said in a phone interview.
“Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officers came to see the situation after being notified about the problem.
“We had a meeting with them last Wednesday and we talked about the safety aspect as well as controlling the people who frequented the market, but so far, nothing had been done.
On Aug 6, StarMetro put back in the spotlight the decade-old issue of the Selayang Wholesale Market being a hub for foreigners and refugees to collect discarded vegetables from bins to be sold at lower prices to individuals and businesses.
The practise raised issues of food hygiene
DBKL said Konsortium Pasar Borong Sdn Bhd (KPB) was supposed to set up a designated area for sorting to be done.
When asked about the issue, a KPB officer met at the site refused to comment and passed the buck back to DBKL.
Chong said if the problem persistd, it would further mar the image of the market.
“We are legal traders and these illegal traders not only pose as competition to us, but also give the whole market a bad name.
“Although DBKL has been working with the Federal Agricultural and Marketing Authority (Fama) to encourage the sorting, grading, and labelling of produce to be done at their source for a long time, farmers have not been cooperative due to the additional work,” he said.
When asked whether the Kuala Lumpur Vegetables Wholesalers Association was open to donating second-grade vegetables to charitable organisations, Chong said he welcome the idea, adding that he would ensure all donated vegetables were fresh.
“A few non-governmental organisation had approached us before. We will do a background check on them to ensure they are legitimate ones.
“However, I will ensure the donated vegetables are fresh,” he said.
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