Panic buying grips Malaysia
Long lines seen at supermarkets and grocery stores even on a weekday
Long lines seen at supermarkets and grocery stores even on a weekday
1 Utama and Bandar Utama City Centre director Tan Sri Teo Chiang Kok: We are prepared to push sales and increase footfall for the mall in the coming months to drive sales and benefit both tenants and shoppers in 1 Utama.
“It’s affecting patients and staff. Local manufacturers are exporting such items while private hospitals are crying out for supplies.”
Government must “act decisively to ban mass gatherings”, said the Malaysian Health Coalition.
MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon: In Malaysia, the government seems averse to drastically reducing public interaction to reduce the risk of mass infections.
The authorities should instead “focus on mitigation to reduce the number of cases and optimise the healthcare resources”, said Dr Lee Boon Chye.
“The advice for social distancing has obviously fallen on deaf ears, as I see people going about their daily lives as if there is no threat at all.
“I do consider the implication of such measures, but we do not want to be too late, like other countries, which are fighting a losing battle now. Every day matters,” the statement said.
The report said the challenges include the local retail sector’s lacklustre performance and the requirement for foreign entrants to sell 30% of the business to a local within three years of its entry into the market.
Jing Fong's second location on the Upper West Side, saw business has dropped by only 20%, which signals that the issue is not so much people avoiding Chinese restaurants but avoiding the city’s various Chinatowns.