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KUCHING: Some companies here are in no rush to reopen, although almost all economic sectors may resume in Sarawak today after being closed for about two months under the Order of the Control Movement to stop the spread of Covid-19 cases.
The federal government had implemented the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) last Monday, but Sarawak had decided to implement it only today after adjusting the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the resumption of business.
Anna Chui, the owner of a family bakery on Kai Joo Lane, said she won’t risk opening until she is certain that her facilities can safely receive customers in line with the SOP established by the Disaster Management Committee of Sarawak (SDMC).
Anna Chui takes the time to clean up her store to speak to The Borneo Post.
“We will only open for business starting this Friday (May 15) from 8 a.m. at 4 p.m. But these days we are cleaning the store to make sure it is hygienic for customers. Even after we are open, we will only offer takeout, we will not have dinner, ”he said when he met this morning while cleaning his store.
Chui hopes that the economic situation in the state will recover soon because many companies like his had their income affected since they have not been open for companies for almost two months, since March 18.
“I hope that people can come and support us when we are open later,” he said.
At a fabric store in the India Street Pedestrian Mall, its owner, Shajahan Syed Ahmad, said he did not expect the business to fully function in the popular pedestrian mall for at least a couple of days because several companies were still unaware of the CMCO.
Shajahan Syed Ahmad
“I think a lot of people are still not aware of the CMCO as of today, they still think that we are still” on lockdown, “he said.
He said his store opened today for cleaning and preparation only because it had not been open for nearly two months since March 18, when the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced.
“The store was closed for almost two months, and everything is dusty. We have to clean everything. We will make sure that all the SOPs mentioned by the SDMC will follow.
“We are cleaning the store with disinfectant, we put some markers on the floor at least 1 meter away for social distancing and we check the body temperature of our workers at least three times a day.
“We will also check each customer’s temperature before they enter the store, while also preparing hand sanitizers for them to apply, as well as face masks in case they don’t have them,” Shajahan said.
In that sense, he said that companies should not be allowed to display their products outside their facilities because this could interrupt the SOP social distancing.
He said that because the products on display are taking up most of the space in the pedestrian mall, customers had to walk close to each other.
“I hope that the authorities can investigate this,” he said.
Shajahan also thanked SDMC and the government for their effort to curb the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as for providing assistance to the business community affected by the MCO.
“The government has done a good thing. They have studied the situation well and implemented the most relaxed CMCO in an orderly manner.
Hopefully things will get better, and when the CMCO is lifted after June 9, maybe we can get back to normal to make up for what we’ve lost.
“But the most important thing is not money because even if we have money but our health is not good, it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
A customer at the pedestrian mall, Shukri Hamid, said that although the SDMC has established the SOP to be followed by companies authorized to operate during the CMCO, several members of the public still ignored the SOP.
Shukri Hamid
He said that companies can comply with the SOP, but if the public does not, then there was no point in implementing the CMCO.
“For example, I went to the Kuching General Post Office early this morning, even when social distancing measures are in place, many people queuing up that I saw did not follow the measures.
“I think it is the mentality and discipline of some people. They think that since the government has relaxed the decision at CMCO, everything is fine now. It’s still not right. Kuching is still in the red zone, “he warned.
The mall’s Bata franchise shoe store owner, Lily Tnay, said her store would strictly implement the CMCO SOP to the letter.
Lily tnay
“Before opening the store, we will first clean and disinfect it. During the opening, we will take each client’s body temperature to make sure they don’t have a fever. After that, we will ask customers to use the hand sanitizers we provide. If you don’t have face masks, we will give you one each.
“We will then take their names and contact numbers before they can continue shopping in our store,” he said.
Meanwhile, at the nearby Plaza Merdeka shopping center, his administration has established inspection points at the main entrance and at the basement entrance of the shopping center.
Customers’ body temperatures were scanned and their names and contact details were taken, and security staff advised them to wear their face masks before letting them into the mall.
Shoppers line up to be examined at the main entrance of the Plaza Merdeka shopping center.
Plaza Merdeka Holdings Sdn Bhd director Datin Anriza Wong Cordero said management always carried out the SOP before allowing its merchants and staff as well as customers to enter the complex.
“This includes controlling body temperature, wearing face masks, hand sanitizer and the need to maintain social distance,” he said.
According to her, on the first day of the operation, around 70 percent of the merchants opened the business, while the rest did not operate because they had not carried out the cleaning work at their facilities.
“Even the barber shop, children’s toy store, and massage store can’t open because they risk exposing themselves to the Covid-19 outbreak,” he said, adding that the mall is open every day from 10 a.m. at 8 p.m. throughout the CMCO period.
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