LETTER | Dear Prime Minister, August 31? That would mark 165 days from the start of the movement control order (MCO). Imagine not being able to earn a living for almost half a year. I honestly don’t know how I, and millions of fellow Malaysians like me, am going to survive beyond this latest MCO extension.
I am still in shock, saddened, disappointed, and painfully numb. I don't know what to feel anymore after the announcement last Sunday. My business, a local company that has existed since Merdeka, has practically stopped, as almost all of our customers were affected by restrictions that prevented them from operating.
How were we affected by the restrictions? We are a licensed distributor of alcoholic beverages.
The nature of our business involves procuring stocks from one of the major breweries and other legal importers in Malaysia and distributing to various F&B outlets who sell them. Our clients include local coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, and cafes, pubs and bars, karaoke centers and nightclubs, even weddings and events.
It is not as fun or as lucrative as it sounds. We are simply an intermediary and transporter. Our risk of non-payment is very high, with thin profit margins. Yes, we are technically considered as being part of the 'non-halal' industry, but this industry is no different from any other. From the sourcing of raw materials to manufacturing, packaging, logistics, to distributors, procurement teams, food suppliers, clients, and more; we are just a minor component of an established industry with a long and complex supply chain. An industry that contributes billions of ringgit in revenue to federal and local governments every year.
No amount of money can substitute human life. Every life is precious and the loss of kin is unbearable. We fully understand and empathise with public anger on the drink-driving issue. Please believe me when I say all who work in this industry hate irresponsible drinkers as much as everyone else. We denounce them as how my peaceful Muslim friends would denounce ISIS. Drink-drivers are irresponsible fools and should be punished. We strongly support government initiatives to impose strict enforcement, greater punishments, and road safety campaigns.
The majority of us are law-abiding citizens. We just want to make a living and we never want to endanger human life. We are as upset as everyone else when these unfortunate accidents occur but please do not punish all of us with such broad restrictions. Such moves, if implemented long-term, will likely cause such activities to go underground or operate illegally, which would be even more dangerous to the public in the future.
I understand the concern to reopen the entertainment sector during the controlled MCO, as the nature of some businesses involves close human contact, such as nightclubs, or the use of shared facilities such as microphones in karaoke centers. However, most bars, restaurants, and cafes are not places of vice or for people to get drunk. Most places these days are family-friendly. A place to meet, eat and chat with friends and family while enjoying good food and drink. Naturally, these places will be subject to the same SOPs and social distancing rules, as well as the same punishments and fines for non-compliance.
Under the current guidelines, customers can’t even have a beer or a glass of wine with their dinner. This may discourage people from going out to dine, to spend, and further damage the already severely affected F&B industry. Do we really want to destroy the entire culinary and social scene in Malaysia? Do we really want to deprive the government and city councils of much-needed revenue?
I am in the third generation of my family that works for our company. We have been through not just one, but every economic crisis our beloved country has been through. And like our fellow citizens, we are resilient and we have survived.
This time, however, I am not so sure. We have been paying our staff full wages since March. We have not laid off a single one even though our business has gone down by more than 80 percent. Past profits and savings have been depleted. Honestly, I don’t know how we can sustain like this for any longer. It saddens me to think about this as many of our staff have been with us for over 20 years.
The F&B, hospitality and entertainment industries, including the many suppliers and distributors like us, employ millions of Malaysians, of all races, all religions, a majority of whom are Malay Muslims.
They don’t necessarily serve or consume alcohol. They work as chefs, managers, front office or service staff, maintenance, drivers, hold key positions in administration, finance or logistics departments. Right now, every one of us in these industries don’t even know if we have a job tomorrow, as our livelihoods - and our families - are directly affected by our inability to work. We just want to work.
Dear Prime Minister, I sincerely plead with you, please allow some of the businesses that do not involve close human contact to operate, with strict compliance to SOPs on disinfectant protocols and social distancing, of course. And if they don’t comply, by all means, shut them down.
At least permit legitimate law-abiding businesses to resume regular operations, to sell products that they are licensed to. Let them make a little money to pay for their staff and expenses. It will be the start of a ripple effect that gets the whole supply chain running again. Perhaps then, we can minimise the number of unemployed, and millions of Malaysians can start contributing to the country’s economy. This is a win-win situation.
Dear Prime Minister, as you said before, you care for us. Can you care for all of us?
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
