KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) is appealing to the government to extend the operating hours of restaurants during the movement control order (MCO) to 10pm from the current 8pm.
"This is because many customers still want to pack food at our restaurants after 8pm due to their working hours," said Presma president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan.
He claimed restaurants have experienced a drop of 80 per cent in business on the first day of the MCO so far.
The massive drop, he said, was a burden to the association's more than 4,200 members in affected states which were at risk of closing down.
Jawahar urged the government to relax certain restrictions imposed on restaurants during this MCO 2.0.
"We accept the government's decision to impose a second round of MCO but we are suffering.
"Some of us had to close down during the first round of the MCO, while others are still recovering from their losses," he said in a statement, today.
Jawahar said dine-ins should be allowed in MCO states with restrictions such as two people per table.
"We've operated with strict adherence to the SOPs before. This helped curb the spread of the virus and kept businesses going.
"We are satisfied with SOP compliance among our members and will continue to ensure strict adherence for the common good," he said.