KOTA KINABALU – Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) wants the authorities to allow hair salons, spas and barbershops to reopen with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place to curb Covid-19 infections.
The party’s Limbahau division chief, Datuk Johnny Mositun, said some operating these businesses are single parents or the sole income earners for their families, and they are having trouble meeting monthly expenses, such as rental, utility bills and staff salary.
“These business operators have been severely affected since the first movement control order (MCO) was implemented on March 18 last year,” he said.
"While they were allowed to resume business during the conditional MCO and recovery MCO, everything is now back to square one with MCO 2.0.
“I fear that small businesses may not be able to survive this second round of MCO. If that happens, then our rakyat will suffer and we do not want that to happen,” he said in a statement today.
Mositun said the government should trust that the people will adhere to any health SOPs implemented.
On Tuesday, it was reported the Penang Hairdressers Association Barbershop issued an appeal to the government to provide hair salons an exemption to operate during the MCO.
Its treasurer, V. Tharmararaj, had said that barbershop operators were only able to open for six months since June 10 last year before being ordered to close again.
He had said industry players do not mind if the SOPs are tightened, as long as they are allowed to open their doors to customers again as soon as possible. – The Vibes, February 4, 2021