GEORGE TOWN: Restaurant operators are happy that they can now allow customers to dine in and are making sure that safety measures are in place at their premises.
At a local nasi kandar shop here, manager Mohd Sabarudeen Mohd Junaidhu said he was happy to reopen his doors to dine-in customers as the dishes were tastier when eaten at the shop.
“Business has not been good after we decided to offer takeaways.
“Now, we expect to see more customers dining in,” he said when met at the shop yesterday.
Mohd Sabarudeen said although the restaurant had nine tables, he would only allow two persons per table and a maximum of 18 customers in the shop at any one time.
“We will continue to remind our patrons to practise social distancing and follow the standard operating procedures.
“Most of our workers here have only received their first dose of the vaccine.
“We will have someone manning the entrance to ensure that patrons show their digital vaccination certificate before they enter our shop,” he added.
Jason Ng, 40, who runs a steamboat restaurant here, said it was a good step to reopen.
However, he was unsure about the seating arrangements as steamboats are usually served in packs of four and six, or for larger groups of people.
“Our full capacity is 60 packs, so we will halve it. We will reopen our dining-in section and offer our steamboat, but I am unsure if people will turn up.
“Maybe once the cases go down, people will feel better about dining out,” he said.
In Petaling Jaya, restaurant operators are taking extra precautions before they open their places to allow dine-in.
Malaysia-Singapore Coffeeshop Proprietors Association president Wong Teu Hoon said many restaurant workers and foreign workers in many states were not yet fully vaccinated.
Wong, who is also Pan Malaysia Koo Soo Restaurants and Chefs Association president, said if dine-ins were to be allowed, vaccination must be expedited for restaurant workers as they should be regarded as “economic frontliners” too.
“Vaccinations must also involve foreign workers. We are afraid to allow dine-ins because cases are still very high,” he added.
Wong said many eateries under both his associations had decided to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach until more announcements were made by the government.
But he added that some restaurants had no choice but to risk their lives by reopening their premises, given their dwindling finances.
“We have advised them that even if they need to reopen, they must abide by the SOP fully or get fined,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Indian Restaurants Owners Association (Primas) president J. Suresh said many restaurant operators were choosing to remain cautious.He said many restaurants had closed for good since restrictions were placed in May this year, while many restaurant workers had moved on to other jobs.
“Many restaurants will not be able to open immediately as they don’t have enough staff.
“Most foreign workers want to return to their home countries for good once the situation improves and a huge number of them have already left,” he said in a statement.
Suresh also said many foreign workers only got their first vaccination jab in the first week of August.
“The number of Covid-19 cases are too high compared to when we made our initial request to allow dine-ins,” he said.
Suresh also proposed that restaurants make a decision on allowing dine-ins based on the safety of their staff members.
“If your state falls under Phase Two and Phase Three of the National Recovery Plan (NRP), make sure your surroundings are safe enough to allow dine-ins.
“All staff must have two vaccine doses. If possible, don’t allow dine-in for at least three to four weeks until cases are reduced,” he said.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced that Covid-19 restrictions would be eased from today for those who have been vaccinated.
States under Phase Two of the NRP are Penang, Sabah, Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Perak while Perlis, Sarawak and Labuan are in Phase Three.