KUALA LUMPUR – The government’s decision to extend the operating hours of eateries to 10pm will be convenient for the public, but will do little to help restaurant operators survive the pandemic.
They said the two-hour extension will only likely lead to a minimal revenue increase, poor compensation for businesses that have already seen an average 80% drop in sales since the no dine-in rule was imposed as part of lockdown restrictions.
Instead, they urged the government to consider allowing dine-ins with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as only two customers per table, in place.
“One month is a month too long for us; we have gone through enough suffering,” Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president J. Suresh told The Vibes.
“In the public’s point of view, this (time extension) is good. At least they don’t have to rush, or even risk missing their dinners. But will it help us restaurants survive? Definitely not.”
Suresh said under the current restrictions, restaurants are only making a fraction of their normal sales, which is insufficient to cover their operational costs.
Allowing dine-in with a limited capacity, he said, will at least help operators break even.
“We are not even getting rental waivers for our premises. If the government can allow people to eat in restaurants, then, at least, we will be able to cover operational costs. At this moment, I think we will all be happy if that happens,” he said.
Senior Minister (Security) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had announced on Sunday that eateries are allowed to operate from 6am to 10pm beginning Monday, although it remains only for takeaway and delivery services.
Under the current SOPs, dining-in will only be allowed once the country enters Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan, which is only expected to start in September. Malaysia is currently still under Phase 1 of the exit plan.
Turning to loan sharks
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) secretary-general Habebur Rahman Shahul Hameed also called for dine-ins to be reinstated with the two-person per table limit.
“Imagine, we have to pay our rentals, workers’ accommodation, their food, salaries and utility bills, among others, and now, we make only a fraction of our usual income. Tell me, how is this enough?” he told The Vibes.
Habebur Rahman said the lack of a blanket moratorium and banks' strict loan approval processes have only made matters worse for many of the association’s more than 12,000 members.
To highlight their desperation, Habebur Rahman said about 1,500 restaurants have closed down since the pandemic started last year, while a number of owners have expressed their intention to borrow from loan sharks to keep their businesses afloat.
“We tried getting loans from banks, but most are rejected because they feel we are incapable of repaying, going by our losses in the past few months. How do you expect us to make profits with all the restrictions in place?
“All we are asking now is for the government to relax loan conditions. Give us a one-off RM100,000 grant to survive in this challenging period,” he said.
Habebur Rahman said the association has written to the government on several occasions seeking aid, but to no avail.
Other than the one-off loan, among its other proposals include a 25% levy discount for the hiring of foreign workers, a blanket loan moratorium, reduction in rentals and deferral of tax payments. – The Vibes, July 1, 2021
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