SMALL traders and hawkers have appealed to Putrajaya to impose a total lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19 as the pandemic continues to escalate nationwide.

They told The Malaysian Insight it is pointless for them to keep operating their businesses under present circumstances as the public are afraid of going out and patronising their stalls.

They said although the government has implemented a third movement control-order (MCO 3.0) from May 12 to June 7, the number of Covid-19 infections have continued to up as most economic activities are still allowed to operate.

Malaysian Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (IKHLAS) president Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah said hoped the government would implement a stricter MCO, just like it did in March last year, when there was almost a total lockdown, except for essential services.

Among the essential services that were allowed to continue operating were food supply, utilities, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, delivery and courier services, public transportation and certain areas of the manufacturing sector. 

“A total lockdown is important now, especially with the discovery of new variants in the country,” Ridzuan said.

“We support a total lockdown for one or two months. The pandemic has worsened with new variants emerging.

“Even if the government allows hawkers and small businesses to continue operating, they will still be affected because people do not dare go out and patronise the business.

“The current measures by the government is a source of confusion for hawkers and small traders.”

Ridzuan said if the government imposes a total lockdown, hawkers and small businesses can suspend their operations in an organised manner, adding that it would be better to start again after the pandemic is brought under control.

Even after two rounds of MCO – the second implemented in January this year – he said the Covid-19 situation in Malaysia has not improved and businesses have not recovered.

He said many hawkers and small businessmen have complained about financial difficulties, some resorting to borrowing money and are now in debt because they cannot make the payments.

“Hawkers received a one-off aid of RM3,000 from the government, but this money was not enough to cover one or two years of debt. How am I to repay my car loan and the mortgage?

“During Hari Raya, I advised small businesses not to buy too much goods as the government may impose stricter standard operating procedure (SOP) due to the increase in cases.

“They were angry and worried that no one would come out to buy new clothes for the festivities. They felt very helpless.”

During the current MCO, wet morning markets and weekend markets are allowed to operate from 7am to 2pm while night markets are allowed to operate from 4pm to 10pm.

All the markets were ordered to follow strict SOP set by the government and were required to have Rela members present for crowd control.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Takiyuddin Hassan said that the National Security Council (NSC) will decide today if the current MCO will be tightened to a full lockdown.

Malaysia yesterday recorded 6,806 new Covid-19 cases, taking the national caseload to 492,302.

This was the highest daily count yet since the start of the pandemic. A new record of 59 Covid-19 deaths were also recorded, bringing the death toll to 2,099.

The number of patients in intensive care units also climbed to a new high of 587, with 330 of them needing respiratory assistance.

Fewer customers due to fear of infection 

Meanwhile, hawkers and small traders said even if businesses are allowed to operate normally, hawkers said they will still experience a 30% drop in the number of customers compared to before MCO 3.0 as the situation now is more serious.

President of the Federation of Hawkers and Petty Traders’ Association president Yow Boon Chuan said with the pandemic worsening, night markets and hawkers who have resumed operations have fewer customers and business has been poor.

“Due to the seriousness of the pandemic, people have slowed down going out to night markets to buy things. Generally, people come to the night market to buy food, and masks are particularly good for sale. As for other daily necessities, they are slightly worse.

“It’s not just that the night market is less crowded, but the streets are also less crowded. Vendors are struggling to keep their shops open,” Yow said.

He said those who are not able to sustain their business may turn to other forms of employment or turn to online sales, but the situation is not getting better.

Tan Luan Huat, president of the Small Traders and Hawkers Coalition of Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, said that with social distancing and crowd control implemented in morning markets, only 300 people are allowed in at a given time.

“We feel that the number of people in the morning market has dropped by 30-40%, as they are afraid of getting infected.

Tan said vegetable sellers suffer the biggest loss as their goods have a limited shelf life.

“Hawkers in coffee shops hope that the government will allow dine-in, because takeaway is not ideal for business.”

Penang Petty Traders Association president Ooi Thean Huat agrees that with MCO3.0, Penang’s morning and evening markets have experienced a decrease of 30% in customers.

He said people would arrive to buy their food and necessities, and leave immediately after.

Ooi said the pandemic has also taken a toll on the economy with people having less spending power and many opting to save where they can.

“Elderly people are accompanied by young people when they come to the morning market, but fewer elderly people come now because young people at home do not let their elders go out,” Ooi added. – May 21, 2021.