SANDAKAN – After suffering a 60% reduction in profits last year, a hair salon operator here pleaded with the government to let them open during the movement control order period.
The owner of two salons in Sandakan, Robert Wong said that as the breadwinner for his family, the pandemic was a tremendous hit to his main source of income.
The 30-year-old father of one said continuous lockdown directives from the government subsequent to the pandemic that broke out in March last year had forced him to close his salons for about five months.
On top of that, when he was allowed to open (June to September 2020, November 2020 to January 13, 2021), he was not earning his usual income as customers still feared to go to salons.
“When we were allowed to operate, we had to follow the instructions that limit our customers to be in the salon for less than an hour. So, we could not provide many services such as rebonding, colouring, and perming.
“I have also purchased close to RM6,000 worth of personal protective equipment in order to comply with the required standard operating procedure for us to operate,” he said.
The second MCO imposed in Sabah from January 13 to January 26, 2021 bars hair and beauty salons from opening.
Wong said he and all of Sandakan’s salon owners are willing to implement strict SOPs as long as they are allowed to open.
“We are also pleading for the government’s assistance to help us (salon operators) who are badly affected by this pandemic. At this point, a lot of salons are looking at closing our businesses,” he said.
Wong also hoped that the local authority Sandakan Municipal Council would understand their struggles and give them a discount for the chair licence fees this year.
“SMC has been charging us RM30 per month for one chair in our salon. So if a salon has four chairs, they have to pay RM120 to SMC every month.
“We have to pay this lump sum for this year, but how can we afford it with the situation that we are facing now? Isn’t it unreasonable to be charging us for the months that we are closed?” he stressed.
He said that he received assistance from the government last year, which included the loan moratorium and a RM3,000 one-off assistance through Geran Khas Prihatin.
“I must say, without these aids, my business would have been closed last year,” he added.
Meanwhile, restaurant owner, Fara Ramsah said that her business suffered a 70% profit reduction last year.
From a gross daily income of about RM1,000, Fara said her restaurant is currently earning about RM280 to RM300 through takeaways and deliveries.
However, she is thankful that the MCO this time allowed her business to operate, despite no dining-in being allowed.
“There is nothing we can do; we must flatten the (Covid-19) curve. I hope this MCO will drastically reduce the number of new Covid-19 cases, so that I will not have to fear the virus and can operate my business as usual,” she said. – The Vibes, January 16, 2021
