PETTY traders and small businesses are having a hard time keeping their shops open due to the increase in the price of goods and the deteriorating economy, said trade associations.

They said with restricted business hours and fewer people venturing out for fear of contracting Covid-19, businesses are haemorrhaging more money now compared with the first lockdown last year.

Bumiputera Petty Traders Association president Mohd Baba Kutty said petty traders’ incomes have suffered a heavy blow as they are only allowed to open from 8am to 8pm under the current standard operating procedure (SOP).

“I don’t understand how the National Security Council came up with this decision. What criteria did they use, and what was the rationale behind them?

“By right they should allow us to open at 6am until 8pm. Now we are only allowed to start at 8am, people would have gone to work by then and there is no one to buy food in the morning,” Baba told The Malaysian Insight.

He said petty traders at the wet market have also been affected by the current operating hours of 6am to 2pm.

“They are only allowed to open until 2pm. So other businesses are taking advantage of the fact that wet markets can’t open beyond 2pm and have set up fresh marts because they can open from morning to night.

“In the long run it looks like the petty traders in the wet markets will close shop too, as they have no customers,” he said.

Baba said fresh marts selling fish, meat, vegetable and fruits have popped up all along Jalan Chow Kit in Kuala Lumpur and are stealing business away from petty traders who cannot operate beyond 2pm.

Despite deteriorating sales, Baba said the petty traders have no choice but to continue with their businesses to put food on the table.

“They have no other way of making a living. Even if they only make RM20 a day, they still have to do it.”

Prices of goods have also gone up by 20% to 30%, putting even more strain on struggling petty traders.

“Prices of goods in Malaysia are controlled by the cartels. The big businesses manipulate the prices. They justify the price hike by saying there is not enough supply due to the pandemic,” he said, adding that fish cost more than beef now.

Baba also lamented that the government does not seem to have experienced advisers who can convey the struggles of petty traders.

“The government doesn’t seem to have advisers who can tell them how petty traders are doing. Even if it did have one, it is not someone who has experience on the ground.

“They pick politicians to be advisers, what do they know?”

Malaysia Singapore Coffee Proprietors General Association president Wong Teu Hoo agreed with Baba that the current business hours have severely impacted sales.

“Because we can only open at 8am, those who want to buy food before heading to work can’t do that anymore. And in the evening, customers who want to pack food after work can’t do so as well because we have to close at 8pm.

“Because of this, many have opted to close temporarily because they don’t think it’s worth opening for so few hours,” he said.

Wong hoped the government will speed up the vaccination rollout and prioritise those in the food and beverage industry so that business can go back to normal.

Confusing SOP

Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah, president of Malaysian Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, said compared with the whole of last year, business in the past six months has fared worse.

“From December last year to February this year, business did pick up for a bit, but from March till now, business has been getting worse.

“At least last year it was very clear cut, total lockdown, no businesses was allowed to open and there was a loan moratorium.

“This allowed the traders to plan their expenses. With the current movement-control order, there are confusing SOP. One minute they say we can open, the next moment they say we can’t. It disrupts our business,” he said.

Ridzuan said by his estimate, after July, at least 50% of businesses will shut down for good, including corporate businesses.

“Small traders will suffer badly now. Their daily expenses to feed their family are heavily impacted, but at one stage they could recover.

“When it involves big businesses, if they are impacted, it takes them a longer time to recover,” he said.

He said prices of goods have gone up by 5% to 20%, but people are still spending money.

“The price of goods keeps going up, but people still have spending power. But how long will they continue to have this buying power? When their buying power significantly reduces, it will be very critical for the people and for businesses.” – June 20, 2021.