FOOD and beverage and entertainment outlets will have to close if the government’s recovery plan fails to steer the country out of the Covid-19 pandemic by November, said business operators.

Businesses, already struggling to stay afloat, say the four-phase plan announced by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Tuesday was more of a target rather than a plan because it did not detail how Malaysia will reach the desired numbers.

Jeremy Lim, vice-president of the restaurants and bistro owners association, described Muhyiddin’s announcement as a briefing rather than a plan.

“A plan normally consists of a strategy or a roadmap on how we are going to lower the Covid-19 numbers. The announcement was more like target sharing, there was no strategy.

“Do we know how we’re going to get down to 500? We don’t. Even for business, you never do something like that,” Lim told The Malaysian Insight.

The government aims to bring down the number of infections in the country to 500 by November and it intends to vaccinate at least 60% of the population by then.

Lim said, though Muhyiddin has insisted that no one will be left behind, it is evident after multiple movement control orders that that is not true.

“If you look around the neighbourhood that you live in and you see how many shops are either closed, put up for rent or sale, you will realise that he (Muhyiddin) left a lot of people behind.

“They need to get down from their ivory tower, do their rounds and talk to the people on the streets.

“They need to figure out what is the next best option. They should realise by now that they are not getting it right,” he said.

Lim, who is also the owner of nightclub Dragonfly KL said, it was unfair that food and beverage outlets are the first to close and last to open, when industries and factories that have contributed to a large number of infections and clusters remain open.

“We have 500 businesses registered with us. The bigger clubs are all in hibernation. Kyo in Mandarin Oriental has not opened a single day since the first MCO, Wicked in W Hotel as well.

“I don’t think any of my members can keep going until November. Our members in Penang are saying they have decided to close.

“Our chapter in Johor has been trying to hold it together but we also hear that many members will likely close,” he said.

At the peak of his business, Lim said he employed 109 people in Dragonfly KL, many of whom have now turned to the gig economy and are working as delivery riders.

Lim said the government should have asked the help of food and beverage business owners to allow their staff to be volunteers at vaccination centres or enlisted the help of event companies with experience of handling tens of thousands of people for concerts to be part of the vaccination programme.

Rip off the band aid

Malaysia Singapore Coffee Proprietors General Association president Wong Teu Hoo said instead of implementing a four-phase plan, the government should rip off the band aid and implement a lockdown similar to that of last year.

“(They should) rip off the band aid and enforce a strict MCO like the one in March last year for two to three months to once and for all bring down the number of infections. At the same time, the vaccination drive should be ramped up,” he said.

Wong seemed sceptical that the government’s recovery plan will work, adding that if it didn’t, more coffee shops and hawkers will have to close down for good.

“Many have chosen not to open at all during MCO 3.0. Many have also closed down as they have run out of money after going through three MCOs.

“For the past six months, we have made zero profit. Now we have to wait for another five months. They need to speed it up (re-opening the economy),” he said.

Wong said officially, since the start of the pandemic, around 2,000 coffee shops and hawkers have closed down for good, but the unofficial number could be higher.

“If the government’s plan is not successful by November, and it needs more time, it won’t only be coffee shops and hawkers who will suffer, every other business out there will also suffer.”

Millions in losses

Meanwhile, entertainment outlets such as family karaoke centres, which have remained closed during the MCO, have suffered millions of ringgit in lost revenue, which Patrick Ng, the president of the association of family karaoke estimates to be as much as RM40 million.

“Industry wide, for some of the bigger players it is more than RM10 million. For the whole industry, it is around RM30-40 million.

“If the recovery plan is not successful, more players will exit the business,” he said.

The association has 23 members – including big players such as Red Box Karaoke and Neway – that own multiple outlets in shopping malls nationwide.

Though the karaoke outlets are not allowed to open, Ng said they are still faced with the high cost of rent and copyright licence fees.

“When we are allowed to operate, we can still cover the overheads, but when we are closed, the loss and profit depends on the rent that we are able to negotiate with the landlord.

“We are still facing high costs of copyright licence fees and entertainment tax besides rental and salary.”

Ng, who is in charge of Manekineko, a karaoke outlet from Japan which has six outlets in Malaysia, said his company has chosen to retain all its workers with a 10% to 20% pay cut.

Even with the pay cut, Ng said the company is still faced with paying more than RM100,000 in salaries.

Ng said the association members were also very disappointed that the industry has not received any compensation from the government despite the multiple MCOs. – June 17, 2021.