In a digital roundtable discussion, the heads of Bonia Corporation Berhad, Padini Holdings Berhad, Estee Lauder Companies Malaysia, Sunway Malls, Tomei Gold and Jewellery Holdings (M) Sdn Bhd and Kyochon 1991 said that they were already been precautions.

Sunway Malls chief operating officer Kevin Tan said that measures to safeguard the mall as well as patrons’ safety were taken even before the Movement Control Order (MCO) came into force.

“All our common areas ,facilities, services and amenities went through deep cleaning. We even went to the extent of having smart fogging done on the surface of all our common areas, facilities, amenities and services where this fogging upon any contact by pathogens, it will kill all the pathogens.

“Well our general guideline is to have 200 square feet per person. That’s our rule of thumb. So we will limit that kind of capacity within this 200 square feet. Of course in terms of activities there will be the necessary social distancing. We will not conduct or encourage activities which attract a huge crowd,” Tan said.

He said all of Sunway Malls outlets have temperature screening at entrances, with another level of temperature screening being done by the mall’s tenants themselves.

Bonia’s executive director, Datuk Seri Daniel Chiang, said his company’s outlets would also be providing private shopping sessions, with only a few customers allowed into the outlets at any one time.

“But we do encourage our customers to make an appointment now. So I think that this is something that we will inform all our VIPs and our customers- is that it will be good enough if they make an appointment, and we will just close the shop for them to shop. So nobody disturbs them, and they get the best service from us,” Chiang said, adding that every item in Bonia stores would also be sanitised with alcohol wipes after they are touched by customers.

On the need to register customer details for contact tracing purposes, Chiang and Estee Lauder managing director Cheryl Joannides said the two companies would be clarifying privacy concerns with the government.

“We take the details of our customers if they are comfortable to do so but we will be taking guidelines form the government if we need to be taking tracing details for each one of our customers coming into our stories, that’s for sure,” Joannides said

Padini’s executive director, Benjamin Yong, said that his company has implemented strict health monitoring rules for all staff, including a travel and health declaration.

“What we like to do is, we have implemented a travel declaration for staff for the MCO and it still applies. So overseas travel, local travel is important, and each staff has to declare where they have been, and also we have a health declaration,” he said, adding that the initiatives were already started before the MCO.

Tomei managing director Datuk Ng Yih Pyng concurred that the biggest challenge for retailers is to draw customers again.

“At this moment, I think it will be a challenge for both mall and retailers,” he said, adding that the onus is on mall operators and retailers to ensure safety of shoppers

He said that his staff were advised to travel directly from their homes to the stores, with unnecessary movement controlled during working hours

“Apart from the restroom, movement outside the shop is discouraged,” he said, adding that the move is to also build their customers’ confidence.

Kyochon’s managing director, Terry Goh said the chain now relies on delivery that made up 95 per cent orders now versus 15 per cent before.

He added that the company is also not going to open all of its outlets on Monday and would take its time before restarting as it still needs to reorganise seating arrangements to comply with the social distancing rule.

“We are working on this. We are not opening all restaurants on Monday. We are going to take a very deliberate approach.

“We also need to sanitise again for all the outlets. Tables and chairs we need to sanitise, disinfect. there are a lot of things we need to do,” Goh said.

He said that the restaurant would also only be receiving customers who make reservations via the chain’s Facebook page or website.

The chain also has a reservation app customers can use, he said when predicting that customers were likely to continue with delivery orders on Monday.

Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz today said companies can decide for themselves whether they should reopen their businesses on Monday.

In an interview with TV3 today, the former banker said that there was no compulsion in the government’s announcement that most economic activities may resume starting May 4.

Come Monday, almost all economic sectors and businesses would be allowed to reopen subject to strict conditions in what is termed a conditional movement control order (CMCO), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin announced yesterday.

In his Labour Day address, Muhyiddin said that the government can no longer afford to carry on with the extended movement control order (MCO) imposed on businesses, which has dealt a significant blow to the nation’s economy.

He said that the government has been suffering RM2.4 billion in losses daily during the MCO, adding that the losses to date are estimated at RM63 billion, with another RM35 billion to come, should the MCO be extended longer.