PETALING JAYA: Owners of coffee shops and eateries are bracing for the impact from the new order requiring most workers in the private and public sectors to work-from-home in states under the conditional movement control order (CMCO).
Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association president Ho Su Mong described the new order from the National Security Council (MKN) as a “grave move” that would see a drastic drop in the number of walk-in customers, especially during lunch hour.
“We will have little to no customers. It would also be difficult now to estimate how much food and drinks to prepare,” Ho said, adding that the eateries would incur losses by preparing more than the eventual demand.
“We cannot afford to take such chances after having already suffered so much losses during the previous movement control order (MCO),” he said, referring to the original strict lockdown imposed between March and May.
Speaking on the ongoing effects of the CMCO imposed in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Putrajaya and Sabah, he said restaurants had not expected to see a drastic drop in customers.
“We expected some customers to still patronise our members’ restaurants, but for the past one or two days, they have incurred so much losses, because nobody comes in at all.
“So far, I think about 20% to 30% of our members have decided not to open up their restaurants.”
He added that many restaurants were also suffering from a lack of workers, with owners now being forced to pick up the slack.
Ho also lamented on the burden that employers have to bear financially despite having no or little business.
“We ere still required to contribute 13% of employees’ salaries to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
“This is quite a burden for the proprietors. We hope the government can consider, from this point, that Socso and EPF can be cut to half, so as to help these small businesses to carry on,” he said. - FMT
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