Luyang assemblyman Ginger Phoong meeting some food operators in his constituency. — Picture courtesy of Ginger Phoong
KOTA KINABALU, June 7 — Already hard hit by the lockdown hours which has limited most businesses, food sellers in Sabah are questioning the state government’s latest order that further restricts their operating hours to only nine hours daily — from 9am until 6pm.
Tandee Sung who runs a stall selling produce in the market here said the new operating hours make little sense to her.
“We have people coming in early to do their shopping and buy food, usually before 9am, I’ve done most of my business for the day. But now that we are only open at 9am, I think my usual buyers are opting to go to supermarkets or just not coming out.
“I don’t understand. What does the high number of cases have to do with how early we open up or close down? Does it really make a difference? I understand that they have to limit gatherings but it’s not like they are gathering at 7am in the morning,” she said.
Sung also said that she has had to adjust her stock as business is now a lot slower. She assumed that many would have stocked up for the lockdown. She said her earnings now are half what they were before the lockdown.
Today’s sales were even poorer, she said, attributing it to people adjusting to the new SOPs, including operating hours.
A coffee shop owner from Penampang who only wanted to be known as Lee estimated losses from his business since total lockdown started on June 1 at 80 per cent.
“Mine is a morning business. We open at 5am so that people going to work can stop by and get breakfast or a packed meal. Usually, we work from 5am to 11am, and after that we do other things like sell fruits and vegetables,” said Lee, who also sells economical mee.
He said he now starts work later at 7am and has missed the early morning before-work crowd, but added that business has also slowed down as expected as the regulars are no longer going to work in their offices.
“I’ve had to cut down on stock, open later, for less income. We already suffered so much since last year and late last night we heard that we were only allowed to open at 9am. How are we going to cope?” Lee asked in exasperation.
Luyang assemblyman Ginger Phoong urged the Sabah government to make allowances for the food hawkers and small businesses in the total lockdown that is supposed to last until June 14.
“If markets are to operate at 9am, they would rather not operate at all as all fresh goods would not be able to be delivered on time. How can the hawkers act immediately?” he asked.
He further questioned the late night announcements of policy changes on the newest operating hours.
“I do not disagree with the government to tighten up our lockdown policies and I also agree that enforcement should be strengthened. However, in my opinion, policies must be designed based on science and data. The government must understand the actual situation on site.
“With the latest operation hours of 9am to 6pm, F&B outlets cannot sell either breakfast or dinner,” he said.
He said that the new business hours do not only affect eateries but also essential workers who might not be able to get their meals on time.
“Certain hawkers are only selling mixed rice in the morning to gain some income. It is also impossible that they would gather crowds. Furthermore, a lot of families do not cook as both may be essential workers, frontliners like nurses. How do they take away after work? For those who wish to stay at home and order delivery would also be affected severely, isn’t this creating inconvenience?” he asked.
Phoong said that the new travel policies limiting district crossings within the state capital will help to flatten the curve. But he said it also adversely affects business owners by limiting their operating hours and customer base.
“Everyone going to eateries to take away at 5pm would increase the chance of creating crowds, isn’t it?
“If the government is firm on not extending the operation hours, they should at least allow business owners to operate accordingly. For example, those who offer breakfast to only operate in the morning maybe until 10am. For those offering dinner services should be allowed to operate until 7pm or 8pm,” he suggested.
Yesterday, Sabah government spokesman on Covid-19 Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun announced that business hours in the state, including for restaurants, supermarkets and sundry shops, have been shortened to 9am to 6pm from tomorrow. Markets can only open from 6am to 3pm.
The decision was made following an increase of cases and clusters to 305 cases and six new clusters being recorded in Sabah.
Aside from that, Kota Kinabalu and its adjacent districts of Putatan and Penampang would no longer be categorised as one district. Interdistrict travel would be limited to essential services and emergencies only.
State civil servants were told to work from home with only 30 per cent of staff allowed in their respective offices.