KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching branch youth assistant publicity chief Eric Tay Tze Kok hopes that the state government would assist other groups not covered under the Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) 6.0 package announced on Friday.
While he said the aid package would bring much relief to many Sarawakians, he pointed out that there were shortcomings as there were still some groups that needed the government’s help.
He said these were such as coffee shop and restaurant owners; event planning companies; as well as the massage industry, the bar industry, sports industry, and other industries.
“Some owners must stop working altogether, whereas some owners can do business without customer consumption, and some industries face worker problems,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Therefore, he hoped that companies that have been suffering since the outbreak of Covid-19 would be included in the assistance provided by the state government.
“Even if restaurants and coffee shops are allowed to operate, they are still suffering. Since dine-in is not allowed, the number of customers will naturally decrease by at least 50 percent or more.
“Unfortunately, coffee shop owners who only sell beverages are most affected,” said Tay, who had personally received many complaints from those in the sector.
He added that factories were severely affected due to the reduced number of workers allowed.
“This is difficult to adjust as in factories, individuals are assigned to different job scopes. With staff cuts, production will decrease,” he said.
He said during this difficult time, it was not only the burden of personal or family expenses that employers faced — but they also had to shoulder a heavy burden in ensuring that their company keeps operating.
“They still have to pay their workers’ wages, and they have to repay loans,” he said.
On another matter, he said that the lockdown order for Sarawak is a timely measure to ensure that the Covid-19 curve is flattened, despite being a painful one for the people and business sectors.
“The government has learned a lesson from the results of the past festive season as the number of cases spiked, causing the medical system to be paralysed.
“The overworked medical team and shortage of beds in the intensive care unit are dangerous as severe patients could not be admitted,” said Tay.
As such, he called on everyone to play their role to fight the pandemic seriously, as only a consorted effort would be fruitful.
“Although it is hard, the people should learn that it is more important to get this over once and for all instead of dragging the situation.
“Strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) will indeed harm the development of the economic system, but if strict SOPs can help to stop the spread of virus carriers, then let it be,” he said.
