Diners are seen in a food court. — Bernama photo
KUCHING (Jan 18): It is a ‘tricky’ situation for some food and beverage (F&B) operators in Sarawak, which is now under Phase 4 of the Covid-19 National Recovery Plan (NRP).
Under this phase, many restrictions have either been lifted or relaxed, but every sector is still subject to the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the authorities.
One example of the relaxation under Phase 4 is customers being allowed to dine in at eateries.
In the earlier phases of the Movement Control Order (MCO), which first came into force in March 2020, F&B operators could only provide takeaway service.
As the number of Covid-19 cases has been steadily going down and the nationwide vaccination drive has been on-going, more economic sectors have begun to resume full-capacity operations, including the F&B business.
However, the situation is not very encouraging for Chris Zafri Hill, who has been seeing fewer customers coming to his Mexican food stall at Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman here since Phase 4 of the NRP commenced.
The 39-year-old Kuchingite said he had been looking and applying for other jobs and should any offer come in, he would grab it immediately.
“My business was doing quite well when Sarawak was still under Phase 3 of the NRP.
“It’s just in Phase 4 that I appear to be losing customers,” he told The Borneo Post here.
On his job-hunting drive, Chris was optimistic about it.
“With Sarawak now entering Phase 4, many sectors are reopening.
“I have been seeking employment in sectors other than F&B,” he said.
Chris’ brother Desmond Mitchell Hill, 41, said the delivery service was not a totally foreign concept to him as he had done it for a year before Covid-19 struck in early 2020.
“I used to operate my tacos stall at Jalan Bayor Bukit near my house in Tabuan Jaya.
“Then the pandemic came, and I ran my business from home. It was a productive period for me, though.
“But under Phase 4, things changed – orders no longer came in back to back.
“It was then when I decided that I needed to close down the business and get a more stable occupation.
“I love the business and I like doing food delivery, but at the end of the day, I also need to pay my bills (and) support my family. I might reopen my stall if things could become stable again in the future,” said Desmond, who has just started work at a bistro in Mile 2 here.
Michael Joron, 40, said very low customer count had forced him to close his ‘nasi lemak’ stall at Petanak Market here.
“Before Phase 4, my operations relied on food delivery service, in line with the ‘no dine-in’ rule in force during the MCO period. During that time, business was good.
“We reopened after the ‘no dine-in’ rule was lifted, but sales began to dip after that,” said Michael.
For Melky Ngu, 42, he acknowledged that the Covid-19 situation had adversely affected all F&B operators not only in Sarawak, but in Malaysia and those around the world as well.
“I’m encouraged by the allowance for customers to dine in at eateries under Phase 4 of the NRP.
“There have been times, however, when my restaurant is quiet, unlike the pre-Covid-19 days when we would regularly experience full-house.
“Even now, with schools having reopened and in days before Chinese New Year 2022, it is still quiet,” said Ngu, whose restaurant is located at Jalan Ang Cheng Ho here.
On the other hand, burger seller Khairul Azhar Sirat, 36, said Phase 4 meant that he might be able to reopen his stall, which he closed almost a year ago.
Previously, he ran his business at a commercial block opposite Emart Hypermarket Batu Kawah.
For now, he is working as a food delivery rider.
“When my burger stall was still operating before the pandemic, I would open for business from late evening to the wee hours in the morning.
“I relied heavily on customers hunting for food late at night, so when Covid-19 struck and the MCO was enforced, I was not able to run my business,” said Khairul Azhar.
Phase 4 of the NRP officially commenced in Kelantan and Sarawak on Jan 3 this year – a decision that was reached after taking into account the current risk assessment carried out by the Ministry of Health and National Security Council (NSC).
Under this phase, workplaces in both the public and private sectors are allowed to operate at 100 per cent capacity, with face-to-face meetings and interviews being allowed with proper physical distancing.
Formal ceremonies are also allowed, with 50 per cent capacity and proper physical distancing.
However, entertainment activities in nightclubs or pubs, overseas tourism activities involving foreign tourists entering Malaysia, sports and recreational activities performed exceeding the prescribed capacity, as well as any activity that could cause crowds to gather and be unable to practise proper physical distancing, are still under the negative list.
Notably, the midnight cut-off time for business operations in Sarawak would no longer be in effect under Phase 4 of the NRP, said Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC).
“The operating hours of the economic sectors allowed under Phase 4 of the NRP is in accordance with the licence conditions,” said the committee.
The SOP under Phase 4 for Sarawak could be accessed on SDMC website and also the NSC website.
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