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PETALING JAYA: Shopping centers in Selangor have started operating since Monday, but their tenants remain cautious despite the relaxing government conditions for some companies.
Malls say they are complying with rules set by federal and state governments, saying everyone’s health and curbing the spread of Covid-19 is their top priority.
For example, while the federal government has allowed dining in restaurants, the Selangor government has only allowed take-out food, as was the practice during the Movement Control Order (MCO).
Establishments such as gyms, cinemas, salons, and karaokes are not yet allowed to open, while fashion stores are restricted to “shop and shop” with the changing rooms closed.
All shopping malls also emphasize general cleaning with frequent cleaning and the use of disinfectants.
Thermal scanning is also performed at entrances for all visitors with visible social distance markers at all of these shopping malls.
Samantha Lee, General Operations Manager, 1 Utama Shopping Center, said they have developed QR scanning health controls through the 1 Utama mobile app to facilitate contract tracking.
She said that in the future, more marketing campaigns will be organized to drive retail sales during and after the MCO conditional period.
Allison Chan, Deputy Manager of Advertising and Promotions for CITTA Mall, said shopping centers should be allowed to open in stages, but still, precautionary measures should continue to be taken.
“But it may also depend on the discretion of shopping malls, and today, we have taken precautions in reducing the number of hours of operation,” he said.
He added that the stores allowed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (Miti) are currently open, although they noted that some tenants were still preparing to operate their businesses by carrying out the necessary disinfection exercise.
H.C Chan, the CEO of Sunway Malls & Theme Park said they were working with their retailers to base their reopening on state and federal guidelines, as well as industry-specific guidelines.
Sunway operates seven shopping centers across the country.
Chan said Sunway Malls has also offered the option for non-essential retailers to trade flex-time after the MCO, so that they can better manage wages and electricity costs.
Chan said that in the short term, the sustainability of the retail sector depends on how the recovery of economic activity and the security of the communities were managed.
“In the future, the industry will need to alter the commercial model of the mall. What we will see is the increasing importance of sharing, be it profit, risk, or resources, between mall operators and retailers.
“The new maxim is one of shared prosperity and shared burden. The rent will depend largely on the percentage of sales, “he said.
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