PEOPLE'S CHAMPION … Tiong speaking to one of the hawkers at Pasar Utama Bintulu.

BINTULU - Several hawkers at Pasar Utama here have appealed to the Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) to allow them a two-week grace period to remove their merchandise from the market which will undergo renovation soon.

They also told Bintulu MP Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing who came to visit them yesterday to intercede on their behalf.

According to the hawkers, the BDA had given them too short a notice to move and were finding it difficult to look for storage space especially for their perishable goods. 

"If we were given an extra two weeks we would not mind," one of them said.

Tiong who was visibly concerned about their plight assured them that he would forward their request to the authority and told them (hawkers) to be patient while waiting for the matter to be ironed out.

He said that once the renovation works were completed the hawkers themselves would greatly benefit as the new facelift would perhaps attract many customers to the market.