PETALING JAYA: While restaurant associations are grateful to the government for allowing dine-ins with two-to-a-table condition, (pix) they are hoping that families with children will be allowed to share a bigger table.
Indian Restaurant Owners Association president J. Govindasamy said business has come a long way from the estimated 20% sales and customer footfall when dining-in was not allowed.
“Our daily takings are now running at about 45%, meaning transactions have more than doubled with the allowance for dine-ins,” he told theSun.
“We request that the government allows families of more than two people to sit in. Of course, a good distance between one another will be maintained. We ask for this because it will further boost our business and encourage more people to dine in.
“We have also requested the Finance Ministry to consider reducing the levy as it had done previously during the first movement control order (MCO) last year. We are hoping for an extra 25% discount from the levy.”
Govindasamy said restaurant owners are burdened with rental of their premises.
“Maybe the government can consider providing restaurant owners a 30% grant. We should consider the emulating Singapore government, which provided a two-month rental waiver,” he said.
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan concurred with Govindasamy. “The sales have doubled and for that we are grateful,” he said.
“The government should consider allowing four people to a table with a good amount of space between them for families which want to dine in.
“Many restaurants have found customers shying away due to the two-to-a-table restriction. We have tables that accommodate groups of eight but now only two people are allowed to use these tables.
Both the associations said there have been no instances of overcrowding regarding customers waiting for their turns to be seated.
“Times have changed and not many people want to spend too much time out in the open. They have their food and drinks and they head home. There have been no overcrowding,” Jawahar said.
