GEORGE TOWN: For the second year running, Mother’s Day is going to be a muted affair with almost all restaurants feeling the pinch caused by the movement control order.
Malaysia Retail Chain Association Food and Beverage Chapter chairman Datuk Seri Garry Chua said all dine-in promotions in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor for today’s Mother’s Day had been cancelled due to the latest lockdown.
“Since dining in is not allowed, we can only give discounts for those opting for takeaways.
“Some restaurants offer free cakes while some are giving between 10% and 20% discounts to boost sales.
“The most affected restaurants are in the big shopping malls. They can barely cover their rentals and salaries.
“It is a challenging time for the food and beverage industry due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the MCO is not helping at all.
“We can’t even make up for the losses suffered last year during this coming festive season, ” he said.
Despite the gloom, Chua has some simple advice for all those who cannot celebrate the occasion today: “A simple phone call or a text message will go a long way in making all mothers happy.”
Olive Tree Hotel marketing and communication manager Lim Hui Hui said in conjunction with Mother’s Day, the hotel is offering a 10% discount on all items on their online store www.olivetree.my.
“Due to the MCO, many people are not able to head home to celebrate Mother’s Day. Now, they have a choice to purchase meals and have them delivered to their doorsteps. This can also reduce human contact, ” she said.
Malaysia Association of Hotels Penang Chapter chairman K. Raj Kumar said many people decided to celebrate Mother’s Day a few days earlier to avoid a lockdown here in Penang.
“They wanted to celebrate the occasion as soon as possible.
“Many restaurants in hotels received last-minute reservations as they were afraid there would be no dine-in if the government imposed MCO in the state.
“On top of that, restaurants have quite a few reservations for buka puasa, too, ” he added.
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