KANOWIT: The Kanowit District Council (MDK) has agreed to issue a special two-month permit to hawkers operating at the Kanowit Esplanade, allowing them to continue trading activities in conjunction with the Gawai Dayak 2026 celebration.

In a media statement issued on Monday, MDK said the decision was made following a special meeting held with the hawkers on 30 April.

Under the decision, the special permit will be valid from 1 May until 30 June 2026, after which all hawkers are required to relocate in accordance with the agreement reached with hawker representatives.

Prior to this, MDK had received an appeal from hawkers in the area requesting a two-month extension of their trading period.

A special meeting was subsequently convened on 29 April at the Kanowit District Office meeting room to deliberate on the matter.

The meeting was attended by representatives from the N49 Ngemah, N50 Machan and P210 Kanowit service centres, council members, community leaders and relevant government agencies.

However, the meeting initially resolved to maintain the original decision that the relocation date for hawkers would remain on 1 May, in line with the agreement reached during a dialogue session held on 17 March 2026.

As such, operations at the Kanowit Esplanade for hawking activities were originally set to cease entirely from that date before the two-month extension for the Gawai Dayak period was approved during the special meeting the following day.

MDK has called for the full cooperation of all hawkers to ensure a smooth relocation process in the interest of creating a more orderly, comfortable and conducive town environment for everyone. -UKASnews