Datuk William Ng
KUCHING (Aug 16): The government is urged to refine the standard operating procedure (SOP) and guideline for the reopening of business sectors to reflect a single operational parameter instead of the existing tiered approach.
In making this call yesterday, Small and Medium Enterprises Association (Samenta) Malaysia chairman Datuk William Ng said the government should allow all sectors to reopen at 80 per cent capacity when 80 per cent of all employers are fully vaccinated, while allowing only fully vaccinated visitors and customers.
“This serves the dual purpose of reinforcing trust in the vaccine and avoid a potential enforcement nightmare for our already stretched frontline enforcement personnel,” he said in a statement.
The statement was issued in response to the government’s announcement on further relaxation of restrictions for the economic sector for states in Phase 1 and 2 of the National Recovery Plan (NRP).
Given the varied SOP, Ng called on the government to immediately direct all enforcement agencies to adopt a consultative approach in the enforcement of the SOP, especially in the first week of the new guideline.
He asserted that businesses should not be fined immediately for inadvertent lapses and minor oversight that are not a clear danger to employees, customers and visitors.
“We once again urge the government to have a single agency or point of contact to coordinate the issuance of permits and operating approval letters, instead of requiring businesses to go to their respective governing ministries.”
According to him, the existing requirement has caused some businesses to fall into cracks or ‘no man’s land’ as their businesses are not under any ministry.
He also called on the government to do away with the distinction between essential and non-essential businesses.
He said the decision to reopen businesses should be based strictly on capacity, ability to implement and enforce physical distancing and safe operational guidelines and vaccination status of employees, customers and visitors.
Ng also appealed to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to comply with all SOPs.
“We have now been given the lifeline that we’ve all been asking for, so we must now step up and ensure that we operate our businesses with safety of employees, customers and visitors in mind,” he added.