The Malaysian Insight

MOST pubs and bars are fighting “a day-to-day battle” to stay afloat in an industry severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, said the Klang Valley Pub, Nightclub and Bar Association.

Association media liaison adviser Jeremy Lim told The Malaysian Insight 100% of their members, in one way or another, have been affected by the pandemic as distributors see their level of bad debts increase.

Industry players also said the conditional movement-control order (CMCO) last month has definitely impacted the whole food, beverage and entertainment industry.

Lim said according to their distributors, they saw a drop of 70% in business since the CMCO.

“Personally, I’ve engaged with many businesses and most are fighting a-day-to-day battle.

“They are closely monitoring the ongoing development on the vaccine and it will be a miracle if they can reopen by the second quarter of 2021,” he said.

On Tuesday, Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said authorities will be taking action against nightclubs and pubs that are still operating on a daily basis.

He said local authorities will revoke the owners’ licences if they are refuse to cooperate, and shut them down permanently.

Lim said from their engagement with their distributors, at least 30% of outlets have ceased operations and another 20 to 30% are still not open.

“These figures are not audited but are from ongoing conversations and discussions.

“We can’t imagine how many Malaysians in the entertainment, food and beverage industry are currently jobless,” he said.

Lim said by their estimates, at least 7,000 businesses are currently affected and it is not just the outlets but related businesses.

“We have cleaning agencies, alcohol suppliers, raw food material distributors and security companies. There are also the entertainers and others.”

However, he said they are grateful to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), as they have allowed club and bar operators to apply for an additional business premises licence so they can pivot to be a non-entertainment business in the interim.

Lim said with this new avenue given by DBKL, it may allow them to survive the pandemic.

“Personally, I do not think this is the end. DBKL has offered a lifeline to operators. We can now pivot and try to reinvent ourselves in the interim.

“What is most important is to bring our staff back to work, start paying our creditors, rent and taxes.”

Pubs and night entertainment outlets have not been allowed to operate since the MCO was first imposed nationwide in mid-March.

They remain among the few economic sectors still not allowed to operate even under the conditional MCO and recovery MCO.

Ismail Sabri had said compounds issued daily for movement-control violations still include a number of those who had patronised nightclubs and pubs.

Hoping for recovery in 2021

Reggae Group of Companies marketing and entertainment director KS Chen said they have incurred losses of up to RM500,000 in the last two months.

He said they used to have 11 outlets but some have closed down while others are operating as restaurants.

“Three outlets have permanently closed, including our flagship at Changkat Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur, while four are temporarily closed and four others are operating as restaurants.

“Currently, the outlets are operating with an estimated 50 employees who have all agreed to take a 50% pay cut.

“We estimate a total of 150 workers have been laid off since April,” he said.

Going into next year, Chen said they are hoping the government will open up their industry, which was made illegal to operate since March.

“With the vaccine rolling out, we believe all industries will be able to operate.”

Chen also said it is not feasible to convert clubs and bars to restaurants if the industry opens up in the next three months.

“Investing in the restaurant concept is not feasible as our industry has not been briefed on when we will be able to operate legally.

“Many bar and nightclub operators are also not well versed in the restaurant business.

“We are just lying to ourselves and having false hope as restaurants aren’t our forte.”

He also added that many owners had incurred more losses converting their premises than remaining closed as they are not accustomed to the restaurant business. – December 20, 2020.