KOTA KINABALU – In the midst of navigating a real sense of fear of contracting Covid-19, Kota Kinabalu General Market stall operators said they are not doing too badly – except for the sharp drop in sales.
A majority of the market's vegetable and poultry sellers said they are still be able to sustain themselves as they keep overheads and liabilities low.
In addition, government incentives are keeping them going during these hard times, they told The Vibes recently.
Liaw Yen Tsh, 58, said she saw 80% of her bread and snack business drop, but the profits she had made in better times have been keeping her afloat, even since the first movement control order (MCO) was imposed in March last year.
“Luckily, when times were good, the income was fairly good, too. There used to be hotels and schools ordering my bread supplies in bulk. But now, there's nothing.
“I used to have an assistant before the pandemic, but I had to let her go recently,” she said, adding that she was lucky not to have mounting debts to service as well.
Liaw said, with the majority of her customers staying home, the delivery businesses are taking over and aiding her as well.
She said there is a stigma that markets are unhygienic and filled with migrants, and many avoid it for fear of contracting the virus.
However, Kota Kinabalu mayor Noorliza Awang Alip assured the public that the market premises along the waterfront here are disinfected daily.
With market hours shortened from 6am to 2pm daily, she had said Kota Kinabalu City Hall officers are present during closing time to carry out disinfection works.
"This applies not just to the Kota Kinabalu General Market, but also markets in Menggatal and Telipok," she told The Vibes.
Market vendor Misna Manap, 48, said her while sales of her vegetables has floundered of late, she is still able to sustain herself as the local council provides waivers for monthly rentals.
"I have two children, both are grown. My eldest daughter has taken up a stall next to mine, while my son drives for Grab,” she said.
“The local council has given us six months waiver in rental fees since last year and that helped us a lot. Besides, the rental is also quite cheap, at only about RM115 a month,” said Misna.
Marked-up prices
Most vegetables sold in the market are sourced from runners or transporters who buy the goods wholesale from farmers in districts such as Ranau and Kota Belud.
Misna said the prices are slightly marked up due to what the transporters charge. She added she has to hire part-timers to do deliveries and door-to-door sales to finish all her daily stock.
“We don’t want the vegetables to go to waste,” she said.
Like most of vegetable and poultry sellers at the market, Misna said she did not take out a large loan to start her business.
Instead, the only loan she had came under the Amanah Saham Bumiputera trust, which she repays monthly from income she declares annually.
“This means I don’t need to fork out a single sen to settle my ASB loan,” she said.
Deep-sea fishing boat owner Abdullah Aliasmen Makajari said his business has fallen 20% due to fewer customers and bad weather, but he is still able to keep his business afloat.
Abdullah hauls around nine tonnes of tuna fish daily, with most of his income coming from wholesalers who buy his catch in bulk.
"The business is just moderate. There is still profit but just not as much as before," said Aliasmen, who has two fishing boat vessels, three small boats and three tour boats. – The Vibes, January 19, 2021
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