Demand for ice heats up during fasting month

Compiled by TEH ATHIRA YUSOF, C.ARUNO and R.ARAVINTAN

TRADERS are selling ice like hot cakes as the temperature rises during the fasting month, Kosmo! reported.Wan Ariff Rashiddin, a 60-year-old ice seller in Besut, Terengganu, said he has been selling an average of 300 packets of ice daily since the beginning of Ramadan.

“The demand for ice is high this year because of the weather.

“I sell my packets at RM1 each… The demand keeps rising,” he said.

Abang Ice manager Mohd Fahmi Mohd Khalil said he sold more than 9,000kg of ice to his customers daily during the fasting month in Melaka.

He said most of his clients are Ramadan bazaar sellers and retailers in Melaka Tengah.“We experienced a shortage in supply on one occasion due to the overwhelming demand. “Now, our company has adjusted delivery schedules to wait for supply from factories between 10pm and 8am,” he added.

Sundry shop owner Ramli Kijo from Kuala Langat, Selangor, said the demand for ice has doubled.

“I now purchase about 24kg and they sell like hot pisang goreng within two hours.”> A teacher charged with trafficking a woman for sexual exploitation at the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court has been suspended from work by the Terengganu Education Department.

State education department director Jelani Sulong told Kosmo! that the 48-year-old teacher’s suspension was enacted pending the court’s decision before any further action can be taken.

Jelani said the teacher is prohibited from teaching until the court case concludes. He added that there is a possibility the teacher may return to work if the court were to find him not guilty.

> A 58-year-old woman beggar, whose three-day earnings of RM700 made it too lucrative for her to stop peddling despite numerous warnings by the authorities, has been given the “right assistance”.

Kelantan Welfare Department director Said Sidup said the elderly woman was given aid and temporary placement at a home in Pengkalan Chepa, reported Harian Metro.

“Based on checks, we found that the woman also received monthly aid from the department. She also has a husband to support.“We had caught her several times despite giving her advice and warnings against begging on the streets.

“Finally, we took action to provide her with the right assistance,” he was quoted as saying.

Said added that the department has assisted 25 people found begging around the Kota Baru and Kubang Kerian areas.

The beggars are between 30 and 70 years old and are repeat offenders.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.