GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) will reward licenced chicken meat sellers with licencing rebates of up to RM1,000 and rental fee waivers, if they install chillers at their market stalls.

Speaking at a press conference after the council's full board meeting today, MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said some 30 licenced chicken sellers in the island would be given such incentives which would only apply for chillers installed before March 31 this year.

MBPP has enforced all licenced chicken meat suppliers in Penang to install chillers in their stall to store the poultry meat at between 0 to 4 degrees Celsius, to keep the meat fresh and prevent contamination.

Yew said that the traders were given a timeframe until March 1 to install the chillers, but the deadline has been extended until the end of May, at the request of the Penang Chicken Traders Association.

"Tentatively, by June 1, the enforcement authorities would inspect to ensure that the chillers have been installed, but we do understand that there would be problems along the way. As such, we are willing to listen if there are concerns over the matter," he said.

He added that so far over 100 of the 177 licenced chicken meat traders in Penang Island have agreed with the new poultry policy.

--BERNAMA

TAGS: poultry policy, reward, waiver, chicken meat traders, MBPP, chillers