JOHOR Area Rehabilitation Organisation (Jaro) is looking forward to the reopening of the Causeway and Second Link checkpoints to casual visitors from Singapore.
Jaro general manager Joseph Roy Arputham said the opening of the two land links connecting Malaysia and Singapore would have a positive impact on Johor’s economy.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that Malaysia’s borders would be reopened on April 1.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, our showroom displaying handicrafts made by trainees receivedmany visitors from Singapore, especially on weekends and holidays,” said Joseph.
He noted that Singaporeans contributed 30% of sales at the showroom in the Jaro complex in Jalan Sungai Chat, Johor Baru.
The average monthly income in pre-Covid-19 days was between RM30,000 and RM35,000 from the sale of custom-made handicrafts, bulk orders from companies and cash donations, he said.
“We registered zero income for nine months after the movement control order was first imposed but luckily, we are now making about RM20,000 monthly,” he added.
Joseph said government orders for binding work made up 30% of its income in 2021 and increased to 50% this year, with more orders expected.
Jaro has also received orders for soft toys and batik face masks from hotels in Desaru, Kota Tinggi.
However, Joseph is concerned about the prices of raw materials which have gone up by 30%.
The price of rattan, for example, is RM42 per kilogramme compared to RM30 per kilogramme last year.
“Currently, we have 50 trainees and we pay them full salaries,” he said, adding that Jaro needed RM70,000 a month to operate.
Jaro was set up in 1952 for tuberculosis patients, but later became a training centre for the physically, intellectually and visually challenged.
For more information, call 07-224 5632.
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