2 Hour Shopping Limit During MCO3.0 Raises Eyebrows
Most customers spend less than 2-hours in a mall anyway, says PPK Malaysia.
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Part of the new MCO 3.0 rules includes a 2-hour shopping limit, imposed in a statement by Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
READ MORE: Errata To The New MCO 3.0 Rules
It came as a surprise to everyone, even the Malaysian Shopping Mall Association (PPK Malaysia), which has released a statement claiming that such a time limit was ‘impractical’.
Whilst we fully agree that limiting the time shoppers spend will definitely help to enhance movement control under the current circumstances, it is totally impractical to enforce this as once shoppers are inside the mall, mall management personnel have totally NO control of where they visit and are unable to keep track of their movements.
The Malaysian Shopping Mall Association
Shopping malls already have adequate crowd control
PPK continues to explain that shoppers are already spending much less time in shopping malls ever since the pandemic broke out last year.
Our car parking records have shown that shoppers are already spending 1 to 1.5 hours shorter than the norm of average 3 hours. Thus, this is already below the target 2-hour limit.
The Malaysian Shopping Mall Association
(Credit: TRP)
Additionally, the capacity of people in cars are already limited to 3 pax per car, while businesses within the shopping malls are also limiting the number of shoppers within the shop at any time.
There are already rules that disallow congregrations of crowds, such as no promotions, conventions, or events.
Thus, with all these limitations already in place, there will be more than adequate social distancing for shoppers.
Who will check?
The main problem with the ruling is enforcement, as shopping malls say that their management staff will not be able to enforce the rule and check each person’s MySejahtera app for the time they’ve spent at the mall.
Not only is such action impractical, shopping mall staff and management will be limited as only 60% of staff are allowed to work on-site.
While the PPK agrees that there should be a tightening of SOPs, they urge that it is done in a practical way that’s easy for shoppers and malls alike to follow.
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