KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has been urged to allow cluster-free industries in the state to resume operations with strict standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance to save the small businesses and SMEs that are on their last legs.
Sabah Wellness and Spa Industry Players adviser Datuk Johnny Mositun (pic) said with daily Covid-19 case numbers down to about 200 per day in the state, it was perhaps time the government considered allowing these businesses to reopen.
“The government should introduce new measures by allowing employers who are able to comply with established SOPs to fully resume and operate their business,” he said in a statement on Friday (July 2).
Mositun, who is also PBS vice-president, said battling Covid-19 is not about enforcing a prolonged lockdown as these have devastating economic effects.
“Everyone is in difficulty. You see hotels and outlets closing down because of the prolonged implementation of the movement control order (MCO),” he said.
He said although industry players understood the intention of the four-phase National Recovery Plan, the interests of the business community and the people should also be taken into consideration.
“That’s why we humbly appeal to the government to allow certain non-essential economic sectors including the spa and wellness industry to operate during this period,” Mositun said, adding that extended closures could shutter some industry players for good.
Stressing that no clusters were recorded from this sector, he said they had been complying with the strict SOPs and even added more preventive measures to minimise transmission risks.
Mositun expressed full support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the state government’s decision in implementing the relaxation of SOP in the state. He hoped that Sabah could be placed under the conditional MCO by mid-July.
Hajiji was quoted as saying recently that social and economic activities including dine-in at restaurants, coffeeshops and restaurants in hotel premises would be allowed in Sabah.
The Federal Government, however, has not given the green light for this.
