I REFER to the letter by Noraini Mohd Othman of the Health Ministry “Report these hawkers for action” (NST, March 31) on the plastics-in-food problem.

I feel that the ministry should enforce the law by ordering public health inspectors to visit and inspect all food outlets and take action against hawkers who flout the law, instead of asking the public to report or alert health authorities of negligent practices.

Remember the reader who wrote to this column a couple of weeks ago to say that she reported to the authorities about a hawker in a pasar tani who fried food together with the plastics and for months, no action was taken? If this is how things stand, how does the ministry expect the public to respond?

It’s not just the Health Ministry but most government enforcement agencies. Make a report, and it will take months for action to be taken; often the report is ignored or forgotten.

NOR SHAHID MOHD NOR, Doha, Qatar

Source: NST – April 1, 2008