Not compulsory for Presma members to open premises for dine-ins - President

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) said today it is not compulsory for its members to open their business premises for dine-ins even though the government has allowed the activity for fully vaccinated individuals.

Its president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said however, Presma members were required to ensure that only fully vaccinated workers are allowed to serve customers.

"The announcement brings relief to restaurant operators especially those under Phase One of the PPN (National Recovery Plan) and we recommend our members to assign one specific staff to check customers' digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate on their MySejahtera application," he said.

To prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection, he said premises owners were advised to regularly disinfect dining tables and chairs, before and after being used by customers.

Jawahar Ali said eateries operators and customers should also adhere to all regulations and standard operating procedures (SOPs) set for dine-in activities.

Yesterday, the National Security Council announced that dine-in activities are allowed for fully vaccinated individuals in states under Phase One of the PPN starting Friday.

Also allowed are non-contact outdoor sports, recreational and leisure activities, as well as night markets and weekend markets.

Jawahar Ali said Presma members were encouraged to put up a poster or notice on the vaccination status of their workers so as to increase the confidence of their patrons.

"We also hope that all customers will comply with the stipulated SOPs while dining in at premises, especially if they come with their families and children below 17 years old," he said.

Meanwhile, checks by Bernama around Seremban, NEGERI SEMBILAN found that customers have started to dine in at restaurants with close monitoring by workers at the outlets.

Customers were asked to show their complete COVID-19 vaccination certificate through the MySejahtera application and were reminded to wear face masks, maintain physical distancing and not to spend too much time at the premises.

In the meantime, Seremban district police chief ACP Mohd Said Ibrahim said police would continue to conduct enforcement on SOP compliance after several activities were allowed for fully vaccinated individuals.

In JOHOR, most restaurant and food outlet operators in Johor Bahru, on the other hand, were not ready to serve dine-in patrons despite the flexibility given by the MKN.

Hj Wahid's Mee Rebus operator, Abdul Halim Wahid, 65, said he wanted to wait for the new SOPs before allowing customers to dine in at the outlet.

"For the time being, I only allow takeaways because I must wait for further instructions from the local authorities on the permission to dine in at the premises," he told Bernama when met at his shop here, today.

Meanwhile, Iskandar Puteri City Council (MBIP) mayor, Datuk Mohd Hafiz Ahmad, said MBIP would seek information from the state government on the additional relaxation given to social and economic sectors for fully vaccinated individuals in states under Phase One of the PPN.

He said this was to ensure that all quarters especially traders could make early preparations to welcome customers.

In MELAKA, many traders were also not ready to resume dine-in service while customers preferred to pack their food at the restaurants.

A restaurant operator at Lorong Pandan, Ashakri Mamat, 57, said the much-awaited announcement was not suitable to be implemented just yet as the number of COVID-19 cases in the state were still high and recorded three figures until yesterday.

"I do not dare to take any risk and I am also worried if a new COVID-19 transmission started in this shop. Furthermore, many things need to be done in order to resume dine-in activities," he added.

-- BERNAMA