KUALA LUMPUR – It has been more than a fortnight since the government permitted fully vaccinated individuals to dine in at eateries in the Klang Valley.
The relaxed standard operating procedures (SOPs) saw many members of the public rejoicing, but some business owners are still apprehensive.
Ice-cream cafe Inside Scoop co-founder Edmund Tan expressed concern about the lack of SOP “alignment” among enforcers, and the fear of a Covid-19 outbreak at his outlets.
“What are the clear SOPs, and are they aligned across all enforcement officers?
“We don’t actually know… The officer would come in and decide their interpretation. There’s a lot of ambiguity for us.
“We may be fully vaccinated, according to our interpretation, but we may be liable to a fine. So, that bit is still not very clear,” he told The Vibes.
He said he is still adopting a wait-and-see approach to allowing dine-in, even if it means making less money.
“If we open (for dine-in), and there is a positive case, there is a chance that we will have to shut for one week, for example. Or, we decide not to open (for dine-in), and we deal with slightly lower sales for a more sustainable period.
At the moment, we have slightly lower sales or a lower margin, but it’s not disrupted in the sense that we don’t go into loss-making mode. Lower revenue is bad, but zero revenue is worse.”
Food handlers at other eateries met by The Vibes said they, too, are confused by the SOPs, and will allow dine-in only when all staff are fully vaccinated.
“We are afraid that we’ll get fined. Some say we can open for dine-in, but others say we have to wait until (all employees) have received both doses. That’s why we are still waiting,” said Zaitul Nasri, who works at Restoran Wan Mat Seafood.
A check of the National Security Council website showed that only fully inoculated employees who have no symptoms can work at restaurants that open for dine-in.
Meanwhile, Lucky Bo owner Edward Soo is ecstatic to be able to welcome diners again.
“We need our business to survive. When we were doing only takeaways, our sales were just 10% to 20% the normal amount. Obviously, we were losing a lot of money.
“We implemented a pay cut during this period. We need to restart. We can also start paying our staff in full.”
Restoran Mosin owner Datuk Mohammed Mosin Abdul Razak shares Soo’s sentiment, saying the SOP relaxation is a relief.
“There may be an increment of 10% in sales from before (when we did only takeaways and deliveries).
“We don’t serve the family crowd any more due to the restrictions, and this has affected business a lot.
“Even after I reopened for dine-in, I haven’t gotten the response I used to get before the MCO (movement control order). I hope things will change.”
As for customers, some are still choosing to be cautious.
“I will not dine in for now because I’m afraid. I have a family at home, and I’m afraid of bringing the virus back to them,” said Muhd Shaifulla Abdul Karim, a Subway employee.
However, consultant Shakeer Rahim said Covid-19 is here to stay, and it is about time that life returned to normal.
“I have been out and about, but only within the Klang Valley.
“We have to move on with our lives. We can’t just stay still at home. We have to be out and about, but still take precautions (when we dine in).” – The Vibes, September 9, 2021
