PETALING JAYA, Feb 4 (Sin Chew Daily) — The Malaysia Selangor & Federal Territory Ku Su Shin Choong Hung Restaurant Association president Datuk Dr Lum Tuck Loy said restaurant business in the country had plunged by more than 90% since dine-in service was disallowed following the enforcement of the MCO.

As such, he said the association urges the government to loosen the control by allowing customers to dine in.

He said since dine-in was banned, customers only ordered cheaper takeaway food such as fried rice, fried noodle, etc instead of more expensive dishes, causing restaurant business to dive by at least 90%.

He said restaurants had to bear extremely high monthly operating expenses, including rents, staff salaries and utility bills, and as the pandemic has now lasted more than a year, many restaurant operators find themselves difficult to survive.

"We are not asking a lot from the government. We only hope it will open up a little more so that dining-in is allowed in full compliance with the SOPs."

He also said restaurants had lost plenty of business opportunities from company dinners and family gatherings since last year, and with Chinese New Year just around the corner, they have zero income from this sector.

"This is a question of survival. We hope the government will understand our dilemma."