As CMCO extended another two weeks, Klang Valley merchants were left hanging by a thread | Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 28 – Neighborhood stall owners, merchants and even miscellaneous stores who barely managed to stay afloat amid the pandemic fear another 14 days under the conditional movement control order (CMCO) could prove fatal to their business.

How Malay Post went to the ground to talk to some of them, feelings of helplessness, frustration and despair prevailed as almost all business owners lamented the drastic drop in revenue in recent months, with some seeing a 75% drop in revenue, while forced to release staff who could no longer pay.

The owners of these stalls and restaurants also admitted that most of their daily collections have been sold out at the end of the day and have been spent on essential household items and supplies for their stores, a situation that will be exacerbated by the CMCO now it has been extended until November. 8.

For Safinaz, who owns Warung Perasan in Kampung Baru, a modest tin-roofed restaurant on the corner of Jalan Raja Alang, the business has deteriorated to the point where she was forced to release five employees.

“I don’t have any clients. Now I have to cook myself because I can’t pay my cooks.

“I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the latest extension,” said 38-year-old Safinaz, apparently dejected. Malay Post.

The mother of two said her stress was compounded by her seven and 11-year-old sons, who have been absent from school.

“My children are going crazy at home, they are bored to death. I can’t even bring them for lunch or dinner due to the decision of the two of us in a car.

“They’re driving me crazy at home,” she exclaimed, before letting out a frustrated sigh.

Even for those selling nasi lemak, the Malaysians’ favorite breakfast, the vendors barely keep their heads above water.

“The business of these last two weeks has gone down like lights for the flies. I can honestly say that the only thing keeping us afloat has been orders from Grab and FoodPanda, ”said Muhammad Darwis, 25, who sells his nasi lemak a few meters from Safinaz.

Despite being one of the most popular nasi lemak franchises, Nasi Lemak Antarabangsa company owner Abdul Halim Jamaluddin, 56, also admitted that he relies on delivery services for income.

“I don’t know if my business will survive another CMCO extension. I don’t have anyone dining at home. They are just FoodPanda and Grab riders.

“They are the only reason we can still open business, otherwise I would have to close the store like everyone else here,” he said. Malay Post.

In Bangsar, the government’s work-from-home order last week has only made the situation worse for Atikah Abdullah, 41, who is already struggling.

Nur Atikah managed to reply while packing hot packs of her homemade nasi lemak at her booth along Jalan Telawi, Nur Atikah said the lack of people in the office was very obvious to her as she had more than the quantity Usual leftovers from last time. Thursday.

“We cannot afford to throw away unsold food every day, for small-time traders like us, every ringgit matters, especially when we are already scraping the bottom of the barrel; and the bottom pot, the barrel is almost scraped, “he said. Malay Post.

Nur Atikah said she still has unpaid rental debt from previous months, and said that for her, it was a real case of keeping up with her finances.

“I have two kids who go to school and are home alone right now, so whatever [money] I get it, I make sure they have enough to eat for today, and then I can just start thinking about what tomorrow will bring and how to deal with it, “he said.

In Shah Alam, noodle soup stall owner Ismail Abdul, 40, said his daily collections have been cut by almost half since the CMCO was re-imposed and admitted feeling powerless, like most of the others. other store owners.

“I usually earn around RM700 to RM800 daily, especially on weekends, but as we have seen cases increase in Shah Alam, I can only earn RM400 to RM500 daily due to my clients’ fear of entering crowded places like this “, He said. He prepared a bowl for a customer at his store inside the Giant Hypermarket on Seksyen 13.

“But despite how it has affected my sales, I think the government is trying to protect people by extending CMCO. Life is one, ”he exclaimed.

For Amirah Rosman, 24, who decided to open a cekodok Post in Section 14, Petaling Jaya after she was laid off from her previous job at a restaurant, she explained that it was the only form of work from which she could earn a living while seeking to recover.

“Actually, I was laid off by a restaurant in Bangsar and only started my business for a month,” she said as she gathered the dough and the banana pieces into one dough.

“However, this is the only initiative that I can choose and I am grateful that the government still allows jobs like mine to continue to function, otherwise I would have no other source of income,” she added.

More than 45 minutes away in the semi-urban neighborhood of Taman Melati in Gombak, despite having been in his position for the past 29 years, the past few months have been the most difficult for the owners of 66-year-old Warong Kak Ya . Siti Zaharah Abdul and her 29-year-old granddaughter Noordiyana Hamidy.

Calling it a daily struggle to make ends meet, the CMCO extension is especially painful as they struggle to cover costs, Siti Zaharah said, adding that he hopes the pandemic will end soon.

Several meters across the street, rice cake vendor Mat Desa Awang, 69, said he is two months late on most of his bills and doesn’t know if he will have enough to settle payments and feed his family of five.

As he fills the rice cakes with coconut shavings and brown sugar before steaming them, Mat Desa’s voice breaks several times as he talks about his struggling business.

“Since this year I have not recovered any of my expenses; people have told me to close, but what else can I do to win so I have no choice but to do this business.

“My son owns a sewing and laundry shop and we are behind in paying for that lot as well.

“I have used up all my savings, there is nothing left, so with this last extension, all I can do now is pray,” he said.

In Putrajaya, Shafri Al-Rizan, 46, lamented how, as the organizers of the now-canceled Petronas Cub Prix racing event that was scheduled for this weekend, they would have to absorb thousands of ringgits in losses.

Meanwhile, Datin Norhaliza Mohd Noor, who owns a hair salon in the Alamanda Mall, fears this will be her last month in operation.

“I had to fire key members of my staff because I could no longer pay them.

“I don’t think I can keep my classroom open by the end of this month, much less if they extend the CMCO again after November 9,” he said as his fingers twitched.

Most businesses and industries, except the social and educational sectors, in both the Federal Territories and Selangor, can operate under the now expanded CMCO.

Informal sector businesses, however, have suffered after SOPs were announced that require most industries to enforce a work-from-home order on their staff for the duration of the CMCO.

The CMCO prevailed to curb the spread of Covid-19 within the Klang Valley, an area that collectively recorded 138 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday.

Malaysia in total recorded 835 new cases yesterday, with 28,640 total infections and 238 deaths.