Some Of Our Favourite F&B Operators Need Help To Stay Alive During The MCO
Our food and beverage industry is struggling to stay alive during the movement control order (MCO) due to the dramatic decrease in demand.
MyF&B, a Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance that includes some of our favourite restaurants and drink shops, have appealed to the government for economic assistance during this time.
In the appeal, MyF&B asks for the government to meet up to 50% of salary costs so that the businesses can maintain their staff.
According to MyF&B, if businesses continue to lose money due to the massive drop in footfall during the MCO, many workers will lose their jobs.
A fully staffed restaurant is unnecessary at this time as there are only delivery orders to be met. Since the MCO, people have reported restaurant staff sitting around with nothing to do.
In the UK, the government has already vowed to meet up to 80% of the salary costs of F&B operators to make sure local businesses survive.
MyF&B have also asked for rental relief during this time. Since salaries and rental are the two biggest fixed expenses that F&B operators have to bear, they have requested a moratorium on rental and tax breaks for landlords.
Most of us will be getting moratoriums on our personal loans or credit, but F&B operators currently do not, since they are considered essential businesses and are expected to work as normal.
The Malaysian F&B Operators Alliance includes favourites such as A&W, Boat Noodle, Tealive, and many more.
While this is the first direct appeal to the government, this is not the first appeal F&B operators have made in the short one-week period of the MCO.
Websites like Food Delivery and Save Our Fave have popped up, urging Malaysians to make delivery orders directly from our favourite local restaurants to keep business running instead of from global restaurant chains.
Food Delivery aims to reintroduce local favourites to Malaysians during the MCO and lists restaurants based on location. You can order directly from the website.
Save Our Fave also aims to support local merchants including services and lets you buy gift cards online, called “eCards”, so you can support the business and still be able to visit them after the MCO.
These websites promise a platform to promote local restaurants without charging them a fee, taking away from already meager profits.
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Anne is an advocate of sustainable living and the circular economy, and has managed to mum-nag the team into using reusable containers to tapau food. She is also a proud parent of 4 cats and 1 rabbit.