PUTRAJAYA – A group of hairdressers and barbers under the United Hairdressing Malaysia is urging the government to allow them to resume business as soon as possible as they have been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Malaysian Hairdressing Association (MHA) and United Asian Hairdressers Association (UAHA) president Michael Poh said many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) like hair salons and barbershops cannot cope with the current situation and may not be able to sustain their operations any longer.
“We are glad that the hairdressing and barber sector is listed in the second phase of the National Recovery Plan, but we do not know when exactly this phase will (start),” he told a virtual press conference today.
Poh said the industry is shrinking, with an average of 74,500 industry players facing obstacles paying shop rental, workers’ salary and personal loans.
Stressing that no clusters have been recorded in the hairdressing sector, he said they have been duly complying with the strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place, even adding more safety precautions to minimise the risk of transmissions such as by sanitising customers from top to toe before they enter salons.
"The government should allow cluster-free industries to operate as usual immediately with strict SOP compliance to save all these almost-dying small businesses and SMEs," he said.
Meanwhile, APT Salon director Yeevon Teh said the hairdressing industry has suffered a loss of at least RM2.25 billion since the movement control order implemented last year.
“This has affected livelihoods, caused stress leading to depression and the younger generation are reluctant to join the hairdressing industry,” she said, adding that policymakers and the government should come up with better solutions to help the industry.
United Hairdressing Malaysia comprises eight major hairdressing and barber associations, namely, MHA, UAHA, Bumiputra Hairdressing Association, Malaysian Bumiputera Barbers Association, Hairdressing Skills Development Association, Malaysian Indian Hairstylist Empowerment Association, Persatuan Pengusaha Jurugaya Rambut India Malaysia and Persatuan Jurugaya Rambut India Selangor dan Wilayah Perseketuan. – Bernama, July 1, 2021
