Mulinggiati is relieved the government decided not to enforce full MCO.
KOTA KINABALU: Small business operators in Sabah have expressed relief over the government’s decision not to implement a total lockdown order or full Movement Control Order (MCO) to restore the state’s economy and curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
Small traders and workers from the B40 segment in the state believe that a targeted Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) is needed to allow them to restore their lives severely affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Mulinggiati Dalipang, 43, a fruit seller at Jalan Pintas Wholesale Market in Penampang said during the first MCO, her small business was deeply impacted as the fruits were damaged and could not be sold after the government announced the closure of economic activities to curb the spread of the fatal disease.
“It’s not that we are not afraid of Covid-19 but we are traders and as ordinary B40 people we are more afraid to see our children or family members going without food, for people like us, if we don’t open up for business or don’t work, we will not get the money,” she told Bernama here on Monday.
She said allowing businesses to operate from 6 am to 9 pm in Sabah provided some breathing space for small traders in the face of economic difficulties caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
For a fellow trader, Waode Laho, 58, small traders like him were counting on the presence of customers at their premises to sell their goods and a total lockdown order, if implemented, would badly affect their businesses.
“I understand we have to restrict movements (to prevent Covid-19) but I hope the SOP can be relaxed to make it easier for people to come and buy at this wholesale market because we are mostly small traders,” he said.
Zulhelmy Mulkaseh, 34, a general worker who is earning RM50 a day working at a restaurant in Kepayan here, said if the restaurant had to be closed due to a total lockdown order, it would be difficult for him to provide for his family. – Bernama