AN EXPECTED 1,500 Indian-Muslim or mamak restaurants in the country are expected to close by the year-end as there are not enough foreign workers to man the eateries.
The difficulty in finding local workers to take on the role of foreign workers at these mamaks was attributed as another reason for the shuttering.
According to the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (PRESMA), 3,000 restaurant operators out of its 12,000 members have shut down since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020 due to the lack of foreign workers entering the country.
“The lack of workers has had a major impact on the survival of the food service and restaurant industry since the ban on the entry of foreign workers was enforced,” PRESMA president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan told The Malaysian Reserve.
“Since the pandemic, in my chain of restaurants alone, more than 250 restaurant workers have returned to India and have not been able to re-enter the country.
“The mamak restaurant industry needs at least 30,000 more workers to fill vacancies across the country,” he reportedly said.
This comes amid the human resources ministry’s recent announcement that the application to hire foreign workers will be temporarily stopped from tomorrow to the end of the month to allow for a review of the application procedure.
Jawahar, meanwhile, urged the Government to extend the closure date for foreign worker recruitment until the end of October.
“Not enough time”
He said the Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM), Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) and Malaysian Muslim Wholesalers and Retailers Association (Mawar) have not had enough time to recruit foreign workers.
The Government only announced last October that it would allow foreign workers back into the country after an almost 16-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Hardly 30% of the association members have received permission for foreign workers (recruitment), while the remaining 70% of applications are still in the system,” he added.
“There are quite a few new members who wish to apply for foreign workers, though they lack the required paperwork and it takes a while to compile such documents,” New Straits Times quoted him as saying.
He said the Government’s temporarily two-week suspension for the recruitment application of migrant workers will have a big impact on restauranters like PRESMA as the labour shortage has not been resolved.
“Traders require the services of foreign workers, especially in the endemic phase,” he said.
PPIM head activist Datuk Nadzim Johan, on the other hand, said the security control and cleaning industries have also been affected as a result of insufficient foreign workers.
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has since opposed the two-week suspension of the foreign worker application procedure, saying it would disrupt the current economic recovery by derailing the manpower planning of the industry.
Earlier today, DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng called on Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan to “suspend himself and his officials for two weeks” instead of imposing unnecessary hardship on businesses by imposing the two-week suspension. — Aug 14, 2022
https://focusmalaysia.my/not-enough-foreign-workers-locals-not-keen-to-join-so-1-5k-mamaks-to-close/
Created by savemalaysia | Aug 17, 2024
Yes excuses. The fact is they don't want local workers but depend on foreign woorkers. With local workers your only cost is to pay them monthly salary plus benefits compared to foreign workers where accommodation, worker permit and levy expenses must be paid on top of salary. Of course all those expenses will be clawed back from foreign workers monthly salary. Which employer don't like foreign worker when their business is operational with almost zero cost and net profit is increased? I sincerely hope government bans foreign workers forever.
2022-08-15 11:04
Better to close mamak restaurants!
Food is unhealthy and very high risk of getting cardio vascular disease.
2022-08-15 11:09
The license approve by the ph led people closing.no workers,approve.too many competition;approved.
Approve bussiness license.
2022-08-15 16:24
Closing mamak food outlets means more inflation loh!
Mamak food is cheapest food in town beside it is halal mah!
2022-08-15 17:48
Plenty of malay shops! I have not step into mamak shop for ages! I prefer those cleaner roti canais from malay shops!
2022-08-15 17:55
Those malay roti canai stocks are related to mamak mah!
Actually....most mamak already classified as malays....just like DR M loh!
Their Identity cards are classify as malays loh!
No one....will want to be called Indians mah!
2022-08-15 18:02
Actually those malay shops selling roti canai....are related to mamak lah!
2022-08-15 18:03
Just oversupply of shops for foods.tht y close.ph is the big brother in selangor and kl.there should control businesses tht already oversupply.or else more price increases as shortage of workers led to wages increases.
2022-08-15 19:23
Blog: Too Many Mamaks serving Lousy Overpriced food. Malaysians not keen, so 1.5k Mamaks to close.
That is the proper headline. Good riddance i say. Only the strong survive.
2022-08-15 19:38
I often buy roti canai from this one malay stall! He is one man show! He sells few hundred pieces a day! No dine in, all takeaway! Nobody is complaining! He is not complaining! No foreign workers employed! Only his beautiful daughter and his wifey who once in the while come and help him!
2022-08-15 20:51
Tobby
Excuses!
2022-08-15 01:15