KUCHING: The reduction in operating hours and the scale of operations will definitely have an adverse impact on the revenues of businesses, but most business operators would understand the purpose of having such restrictions under the extraordinary circumstances.
Sarawak Business Federation secretary-general Jonathan Chai Voon Tok said this when commenting on the tightened conditional movement control order (CMCO) standard operating procedure (SOP) announced by the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) on Monday.
The latest SOP, which is effective from May 25 to June 7, includes reducing operation hours for all sectors to 6am to 8pm and limiting employee attendance in the public and private sectors.
“With the ongoing spike of positive Covid-19 cases in the state, it is timely for SDMC to tighten the SOP even though the move might bring inconvenience to the business operators, especially the restriction that all movements between the different specified zones are only allowed for essential services, working people, and emergencies, but require police permits.
“As for the reduction of staffing in the public sector, it is hoped that the efficiency of the delivery of public services would not be drastically affected. Indeed, a proper mechanism must be put in place to monitor the performance of those who work from home,” said Chai when contacted today (May 25).
He stressed that even if there was further tightening of SOPs or even another round of movement control order (MCO), the pandemic would not be kept under control if everyone adopted a lackadaisical attitude towards SOP compliance.
He felt that if the situation was really out of control, it may be inevitable for the government to take a decisive action by declaring a lockdown.
“But if such an eventuality occurs, the government must be prepared to put in place sufficient aid measures to ensure that our people and businesses can overcome the ensuing hardships and challenges,” he said.
He called upon the public, including the business community, to play their part by strictly observing the SOP, emphasising the importance of self-discipline among the people.
“Any minor mishap on our part could potentially turn into a cluster of massive infections,” said Chai, who is also Kuching Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCGCCI) secretary-general.
“The virus is omnipresent and we must acknowledge that the capacity of our public health will not be able to cope with the rising number of positive cases and is on the verge of collapse if the situation does not improve sooner,” he added.
With regard to the upcoming Gawai festival, he hoped that the restrictions put in place would reduce the movements of the general public to avoid the potential risk of massive transmissions of infection through social gatherings and visiting.
He also hoped that the vaccination rollout would be able to be expedited so that herd immunity could be achieved as soon as possible.
