Pending Jetty Hawker Centre gets RM300,000 upgrade

Sim (second left) along with (from right) Dr Yii, Yong and Wee during a visit to Pending Jetty Hawker Centre on Sept 16, 2026.

By DayakDaily Team

KUCHING, Sept 17: The federal government has allocated RM300,000 to upgrade the Pending Jetty Hawker Centre, with the aim of providing hawkers and small traders with a safer, more comfortable and conducive place to do business.

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said economic development should not be measured solely through big figures, but must also be felt by small traders and hawkers who form part of the backbone of the local economy.

“We can talk about economic growth and big numbers. But if these big numbers are not felt by hawkers, small traders and shopkeepers, then they have no meaning,” he said in a statement today following a visit to the project site on Wednesday (Sept 16).

Sim was accompanied by Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii and Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong.

He said improvements to facilities such as the hawker centre would give traders a better environment to operate and, more importantly, create conditions for their businesses to grow.

The upgrading works include finishing works and the replacement of walls, flooring, ceilings and roofing, as well as improvements to windows, doors, sanitary facilities, drainage and electrical systems.

The project began on Aug 10 and is scheduled for completion on Oct 9.

Sim said the project was among the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives’ (KUSKOP) efforts to ensure basic facilities for hawkers and small traders continued to receive attention.

He added that KUSKOP would continue working with the Sarawak government and local authorities to identify the needs of traders on the ground.

“I would like to thank the Sarawak government, MBKS, Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii, Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong and Mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng for their excellent cooperation with KUSKOP.

“Such cooperation is important to ensure that our hawkers, small traders and SMEs have better places to conduct their businesses,” he said.

Pending Jetty Hawker Centre has 11 business lots and has been operating since 1989 as a community hawker centre in the area.

Wee said rental rates at the centre were kept low to take into account the needs of the local community, including the B40 group, while helping ensure food and goods remained affordable.

The project is part of KUSKOP’s Premises Development Programme (Tamu Desa), which aims to provide and upgrade conducive business premises while creating economic opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs and small traders.

In Sarawak, 66 Tamu Desa projects have been implemented between 2024 and 2026, involving a total allocation of more than RM14 million in federal government funding. — DayakDaily