GEORGE TOWN: Faced with an acute shortage of staff, about 200 nasi kandar restaurants in Penang are stressed out as they are unable to manage the influx of customers, especially with interstate travel bans lifted.
Indian Muslim Community Organisation Malaysia (IMCOM) president Mohamed Rizwan Abdul Ghafoor Khan said the shortage of workers involved foreigners who were stranded in their home countries and unable to return to work.
He said prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were about 40,000 workers, including both foreigners and locals, working in nasi kandar restaurants statewide.
He, however, said the number has been reduced to 20,000.
"It is not that we do not want to employ locals to work but many of them are not interested to work in nasi kandar restaurants. Although we offer reasonable salaries and other benefits, they are simply not interested.
"As a result, many of the nasi kandar restaurants had to employ foreign workers. Unfortunately, they are unable to return to the country to work due to the Covid-19 pandemic," he said when met at Jalan Campbell here.
Mohamed Rizwan said with shortage of workers, nasi kandar restaurant operators were unable to manage the influx of customers.
"The shortage of workers is a bane for nasi kandar restaurant operators as they are unable to ensure strict compliance of standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the government. When we fail to control the crowd, we will be fined for violation of SOPs.
"It is not that we don't want to comply with the SOPs but we don't have enough manpower. This is what is happening now. We hope the authorities understand our plight," he added.
Mohamed Rizwan said they understood the need to abide by the SOPs but urged the authorities to consider the current situation before taking any action.
"Existing workers are made to do additional work due to the shortage of workers. Sometimes, they leave the premises for prayers or to stock up on supplies and forget to check in and check out using the MySejahtera app due to the rush.
"This is what we are urging the authorities to consider. These workers are in the premises at all times for work. Moreover, they have already checked in when they report for work," he said.
This, he noted, was what happened to Hameediyah Restaurant last week where the century-old nasi kandar restaurant was slapped with a RM10,000 fine after some of its workers failed to check in using the MySejahtera app.
Hameediyah Restaurant owner, Ahamed Seeni Pakir, said some of his workers had gone out to pray and had forgotten to check in using the MySejahtera app when they returned.
"When they returned to the premises, they saw that customers had made a beeline outside the premises. In their haste, the workers forgot to check in using the MySejahtera app.
"I will pay the fine this week but I hope the government will allow eateries to bring in foreign workers to overcome the issue of shortage of workers," he added.
