Textile merchants like Wah Yoon have endured five rounds of closure under the MCO.
KOTA KINABALU: Textile traders have appealed to the government to allow them to reopen as the operators are facing severe financial distress.
Wah Yoon Trading Sdn Bhd managing director Michael Pan Lee Chan said textile merchants have endured five rounds of closure for the past year and a half since the first Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced on March 18, 2020.
He said the latest lockdown imposed since June 1 had lasted more than a month with no end in sight.
“We appeal to the government to empathize with our plight and allow us to reopen soon,” Wah said, as he expressed the grievances of close to 30 textile merchants in Sabah.
Wah Yoon has been established for 42 years starting with the opening of its first store at Segama on June 23, 1979, followed by Putatan branch on March 5, 2007 and Alam Mesra branch on September 7, 2009.
The company employs more than 60 workers and is one of the largest textile merchants in Sabah with over 26,000 square feet of retail space combined.
Pan, who is also the secretary-general of Malaysia-China Chamber of Commerce (MCCC) Sabah branch, said textile traders have endured 18 weeks of closure due to MCO imposed in March and October last year, as well as in January, February and June this year.
“The latest MCO enforced since June 1 is still ongoing with no end in sight.
“Our business is severely affected after five rounds of closure,” he lamented.
Even on the days when textile merchants were allowed to open under strict standard operating procedure (SOPs), he said there was not much business but at least operators could earn some revenue.
He said textile merchants have missed out on huge potential revenue during the festive seasons as they were not allowed to open during Hari Raya, Harvest Festival and Christmas last year, as well as the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and Harvest Festival this year.
“Textile traders were able to stay afloat throughout the different stages of movement control order last year, albeit barely, because business was doing well in 2019.
“However, the 30 to 50 per cent loss in business in 2020 was a major setback for us.
“We could not sustain under prolonged closure any longer.”
Taking Wah Yoon as example, Pan said his company had to fork out close to RM200,000 every month for rental, salaries and utilities and other expenses.
“We cannot survive on zero income.”
He added that his clientele included civil servants, uniformed forces and students, who purchased textile to make uniforms.
“We recently received orders from schools, civil servants and uniformed forces but we couldn’t provide our services as textile merchants are not allowed to open.”
Pan said the Covid-19 situation in Sabah was well under control with the proactive measures taken by the State Government.
Since car wash centres, hair salons and stationery shops are allowed to operate, he said textile stores should be allowed to open as well.
“If allowed to open, we will comply with the government’s SOP. We are also willing to reduce the number of employees and customers in the premises.”
He hoped that the government would understand the plight of textile traders and allow them to resume operation.
On the other hand, Wah Yoon has donated more than 5,000 metres of fabric worth around RM15,000 to six hospitals in Sabah, namely Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas, Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), QEH 2, Duchess of Kent Hospital, Sandakan, Tawau Hospital and Keningau Hospital, for the making of protective garments.