Malls on Hide list closed, neighbouring outlets still open

 

Several major shopping malls around the Klang Valley listed as potential Covid-19 clusters under the Hotspot Identification for Dynamic Engagement (Hide) have taken immediate steps to shut down operations despite being issued with a last-minute order last night.

The National Security Council instruction for a mandatory three-day closure came hours after Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said premises included in the daily Hide list need not close but advised to take various Covid-19 pre-emptive measures.

With only several days left before the Hari Raya celebrations, Jakel Mall in Kuala Lumpur suspended its operations and promotional sale, initially due to go on until Raya eve for last-minute shoppers.

Security guards on duty at the main entrances to other locations including Fahrenheit Mall and Mid Valley Mega Mall were seen turning away visitors unaware of the shutdown notice.

Not only were visitors caught unaware, at least one shopping mall administrator had taken to Facebook to air apparent frustrations over the non-consistent shutdown orders.

Sungei Wang Plaza on its official Facebook page posted the NSC's order and tagged other Kuala Lumpur malls, together with an image of a frustrated woman.

Others who commented, including the official page for Selayang Mall, pointed out that Lot 10 mall - less than 2km away from Sungei Wang - has so far remained open for business.

Similarly, in Subang Jaya, its oldest mall - Subang Parade - will be closed for three days.

Malaysiakini's check at around noon found that most businesses have shuttered, but the main entrance remained open for last-minute deliveries to several outlet owners.

There were also those who requested entry to move their items to another outlet located at the nearby Empire Shopping Gallery or Aeon Big hypermarket, both of which continue to operate.

Since late last night, other malls including 1Utama and Sunway Pyramid also took to their social media to announce the closure to undertake sanitisation exercise as per the government's directive.

Four major associations representing the shopping mall and retail industry players in an immediate reaction had shot down the three-day closure directive as not only premature but warned of "irreversible damage" to business recovery.

The Malaysia Shopping Malls Association, the Malaysia Retailers Association, the Malaysia Retail Chain Association and the Bumiputra Retailers Organisation in a joint statement last night urged for the closure to be put off. - Mkini