SUSAN was told earlier this week that she will have to take a 60% pay cut if she chooses to remain employed in the media industry while Ahmad, from the property sector, was slapped with a 15% pay cut.

The two have little choice – take the pay cut or be unemployed.

Many Malaysians in the private sector are in the same boat as the nation steps into the third week of movement-control order (MCO) to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Those with whom The Malaysian Insight spoke said losing a job at this stage could be devastating and terrifying, especially when certain industries are beginning to feel the full force of the crisis which has impacted on the economy over the past months.

From pilots to stewards, restaurant operators and gym instructors, they all expressed fears that if they lose their jobs now, there is no telling when they will be gainfully employed again.

“Hard to imagine being unemployed. Anything can happen when this comes to an end, and losing my job is a possibility,” an aircraft engineer, who only wanted to be known as Paul, told The Malaysian Insight.

The 30-year-old said it would be like picking himself up from the bottom again, if he loses his job.

“If there is retrenchment, then I would probably need to sell my house and car and move to my parent’s place so that I won’t suffocate financially.

“This literally means all my hard work over the years would have come to nothing,” he said, adding that a new job in a different field will not pay as much as what he is earning now.

As Covid-19 begins to exact an economic toll on companies and businesses, some have asked their employees to take unpaid leave while others have laid off workers.

Last week, the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) said about 2.4 million jobs will be lost in the impending economic recession created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

A flight steward with AirAsia X said the company offered the option of unpaid leave if they choose to remain at home during the MCO period.

She said with no flights scheduled, going on unpaid leave is a bad option, as it will mean a total financial breakdown for her.

“Our basic salary isn’t high. We rely on our allowances but since there are no flights, we don’t even have that.

“We were offered unpaid leave but that would mean we would have no money. We need to eat and we have commitments.

“The government’s announcement on the banks’ moratorium helps house and car owners, not those staying in rented properties.

“I pleaded with my landlord to excuse my payment for next month,” said the 33-year-old stewardess, who wanted to remain anonymous.

Recently, AirAsia said its management and senior employees of AirAsia Group volunteered to take a pay cut, ranging from 100% at the very top to 15%.

A pilot with AirAsia, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of losing his job, said retrenchment could be on the cards soon.

With basic pay and allowances slashed by almost 70%, the 29-year-old said times are challenging and many face the possibility of losing their jobs in the coming months.

“Now the top management and senior employees are taking pay cuts. Even pilots’ allowances are down by 70%. Since we don’t fly, we only get a minimum flying allowance and no sector allowance. So, I think it won’t be long before they look to lay off some of us.”

The pilot also said if the company decides to retrench its employees, especially pilots, then some will face the daunting task of looking for another job in the same sector.

“Imagine if the company retrenches 300 pilots. All of them will then start looking for a job in another local airline. Which company will hire all? I don’t think that after the economic crisis, most airlines will be able to do that.

“Even international airlines will want to help their people first. So, we are doomed.”

Besides major industries, small businesses are also struggling to adapt during the partial lockdown.

Among them are food and beverages outlets. With restaurants and eateries only allowed to do deliveries and takeaways, some have said that their profits have plunged drastically.

Shaik Fazrin, who owns a nasi kandar restaurant in Kelana Jaya said he only makes 10% to 15% profit by doing takeaways and deliveries.

He said the income will not even be sufficient to pay the shop rental.

“Our business is customer based. Deliveries are just an added option to our business but people prefer to dine in and with the MCO, fewer people come to do takeaways.

“We still need to pay rent, utilities, and salaries for workers. So, we can’t cover them with just takeaways and deliveries,” Fazrin said, adding that he closed two other restaurants because of the lack of business.

People working in the creative industry are also suffering losses.

The MCO has caused freelance artist Mia Fitri to lose freelance gigs, leaving her financially distressed.

In a Facebook post, she writes about how the current situation is affecting her livelihood and finances, with only a small amount left in her bank account.

She is worried about her survival for the next month.

“Currently I have RM736.08 in my account. I am awaiting a payment of RM950 that has been delayed for two weeks. You will think I have a lot, that’s RM1,600+. But I have not paid my rent for April, which is RM1,200.

“I have a cancelled work event in Penang, I lost RM1,000. Thank God, the hotel refunded me RM350, which is part of what I have now.

“I had a shoot scheduled, I lost RM2,000. I had a local project that was starting, I’m not sure when that can start again.”

She said her side income was from editing videos, writing articles, teaching and driving Grab but she can’t do any of these things with the current climate.

However, Mia isn’t the only one in the creative industry feeling the heat.

David, a 24-year-old project manager and producer who works for a content house, said his company is unable to continue with campaigns and promote their products.

“We can’t even shoot any commercials or shoot any digital campaign assets as we’re not supposed to meet up during MCO. Everything’s postponed. Everyone is affected.”

He also said his company’s cash flow is affected because campaigns are being put on hold.

“During bad times, of course, you need to promote your product but not many companies have the capabilities to put out more money in such a time as this.”

His company’s stagnancy during this time has also led to wages being reduced.

“I still get my wages but they’re slightly cut. Work hours are also slightly cut. Travel allowances have been taken away.”

Unlike most people, self-employed gym instructor Shawn Wong, 28, told The Malaysian Insight he had prepared himself financially and mentally a month before Covid-19.

“I saved up an additional 50% of my income to counter these setbacks. This meant not eating out and travelling. My anniversary trip to Vietnam got cancelled because of the MCO. I see that it was a good thing now as I now have more cushion for the upcoming months.

“Similar to most businesses, my fitness lifestyle coaching business took a hit as some of my clients are pausing their subscriptions to their coaching sessions.

“To overcome this issue, I now provide them with online programmes and support to give them more value, more reasons to continue during this period.”

The MCO, which was supposed to end on March 31, has been extended for another two weeks until April 14 to break the chain of the Covid-19 infections.

As of yesterday, the virus has killed 53 and infected 3,333 in Malaysia. – April 4, 2020.