Slow business days in city centre amidst conditional MCO

Businesses in the city centre remained sluggish after almost a week of the conditional movement control order's (MCO) implementation since Monday.

Checks by Malaysiakini in the Bukit Bintang area around noon showed that the sidewalks along Jalan Bukit Bintang street and Jalan Sultan Ismail, which were usually bustling with pedestrians before the Covid-19 outbreak, were devoid of a crowd.

It is supposed to be a busy weekend but the roads were mostly filled with taxis, Grab cars and food-delivery riders.

Restaurant and store workers factored in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, the absence of tourists and the public's sentiment on going out amid the Covid-19 outbreak as reasons for the declines in sales.

Al-Amar Express restaurant manager Azmee Muhamad said the restaurant he works for is popular among tourists and it raked in the most profit during the fasting month and several months afterwards due to Arab tourists season.

"These are the times when Arab tourists come and spend a long holiday for up to three months. It is known as the 'Arab season'. I'm afraid we will not see them this year," said Azmee.

Azmee said the restaurant which is located near the entrance of the Fahrenheit mall, only received five walk-in customers yesterday. When Malaysiakini interviewed him today, he had yet to receive any customers.

Shoppers in the Fahrenheit were also few with some shops remaining closed.

Watch shop worker Ira Amanina said before the MCO enforced on March 18, the shop received about 20 customers on average per day. However, since Monday, she only saw about one or two customers a day.

"And those were regular customers who had called upfront to check if we were operational. Yesterday, only one customer came in," she said.

Amanina said those who passed by the shop were mostly looking for pharmacy and hardware shops.

The Pavilion shopping mall, which is located opposite Fahrenheit, also sees a shortage of shoppers. Several individuals were seen dining in restaurants but mostly they dined alone or with a partner rather than with a big group.

All the stores, including those in Fahrenheit, complied with the authorities' SOPs such as recording shoppers' body temperature, taking down their details and marking the floor with tape as a guide for social distancing measures.

La Bodega restaurant manager Khert Javiert told Malaysiakini that many people were still afraid to go out although the government had given some leeway.

"Since Monday, we have received several regular customers but overall, business is very slow, many people are afraid to go out. And those who came only spent several minutes eating rather than taking their time to hang out. As soon as they finished their meals, they quickly left," he said.

Some customers, he said, complained of having to sanitise their hands every time they visited each shop.

"When we stopped them to ask them to sanitise their hands before entering the restaurant, they become infuriated. We explained that we must follow the SOPs but they complained of having their hands sanitised too much," he said.

For a shopper Nabilah Syakinah, she felt safe going out to shop as all the outlets followed the SOPs.

"Before entering any shop, we have to fill out our name, IC and mobile numbers. The workers also wear face masks and record my body temperature. I feel okay with going out as long as everyone follows the SOPs," she said.

Pedestrian Abdul Hakim Hafizi, when met along the sidewalks of Jalan Bukit Bintang street, said he felt strange walking on the street on a Saturday noon with so few people around.

"It's a totally different feel. Before the Covid-19 outbreak, it was crowded here and the roads were always congested.

"I think many people are still afraid to go out," he noted. - Mkini