PETALING JAYA: Dining at a mamak restaurant in the wee hours was a popular Malaysian pastime, but it might not make a comeback even if Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
Many operators of 24-hour mamak restaurants are reluctant to resume the old round-the-clock business hours, with worker shortage being one of the challenges faced by them.
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) president Datuk Jawahar Ali said Malaysia’s famous 24-hour mamak eateries may be a thing of the past as the “new normal” is adopted by the nation.
He said besides adapting to the new normal, mamak eateries are also finding it difficult to stay open round-the-clock due to manpower issues despite business being good during the national recovery phase.
“The business is good but we can’t operate 24-hours because we lack workers. Some restaurants have cut down on operating hours because there are not enough staff to work the shifts.
“Although the government has allowed us to open from 6am to midnight, some have chosen to open at 8am and close at 10pm.
“Meanwhile, some restaurants in Penang are opening only during lunch time. I myself have had to close two branches in the Klang Valley due to a lack of workers.
“But even in the future when more foreign workers are allowed to come in, we may have to change our norm.
“Opening until 2am is good enough because Covid-19 has changed our norm and not many customers want to stay until the late hours,” he said when contacted.
Burhan Mohamed, who is the managing director of the Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar mamak chain, said currently, eateries were facing critical manpower shortage issues due to the restrictions on the import of foreign workers.
“Our worker shortage is about 50% to 60%.
“The shortage has truly affected our daily operation and I do not think we can survive if we operate 24 hours.
“I think for now, we prefer the current setting where we close at midnight, even if 24-hour operations are allowed to resume,” he said.
Mamak restaurants were also previously the favourite places to watch the late night live football matches.
Now that eateries must close by midnight, Burhan has stopped subscribing to live sports on TV and it has saved him some money.
“Subscribing to sports on TV is not cheap for a restaurant as it is a commercial licence.
“I have temporarily terminated the subscription at all my 10 outlets and this has helped us save about RM6,000 a month.
“With the current challenging situation, we try to cut costs wherever we can,” said Burhan.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many foreign workers who went back to their home countries prior to border closures were stuck and not able to return here.
As a result, mamak operators have had to manage with a smaller pool of available workers, which Burhan says is hitting his restaurant hard.
“We have many cases of staff leaving us abruptly, because they are offered higher wages at another restaurant. It is getting hard to cope with this situation,” said Burhan.
Ashraf Ariff, who owns Ali’s Bistro in Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur, also feels reluctant to return to the 24-hour business operations. “I feel that 24-hour eateries will be a thing of the past, as we have gotten used to closing at midnight.
“I think customers have also become accustomed to not being out after 12am.
“Most of us would prefer closing at midnight, to be frank. But because shoplot rentals for mamak restaurants especially in the Klang Valley are expensive, we might need to operate 24 hours to cover costs.
“But with the worker shortage issue, it is very difficult for many operators and a lot of them have had to shut down.
“The government should sort the shortage issue first,” said Ashraf.
Presma secretary-general Habebur Rahman Shahul Hameed said some restaurateurs will favour 24-hour operations, depending on their locations.
“Some mamak restaurants are located near factories, so people who work late shifts patronise these eateries.
“For me, my restaurant in Kelana Jaya closes at 12am and I prefer this timing. The 24-hour timing can be very tiring.
“With the foreign worker shortage issue now, even operating to midnight is challenging,” said Habebur.