DBKL Says Restaurants Have To Close By Midnight
Contrary to Ismail Sabri's announcement in which he had said that outlets can open until 2am, Kuala Lumpur City Hall said today, 12 September, that restaurants will still have to shut by 12am.
By Sadho Ram — 12 Sep 2020, 04:57 PM
The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has now reversed an earlier decision by Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob
In a statement today, 12 September, DBKL said that restaurants and other business outlets in the city will still have to shut their operations by midnight (12am).
DBKL's statement effectively reverses a decision by the National Security Council (NSC) which had allowed businesses, such as restaurants and convenience stores, to operate until 2am starting 11 September.
The decision by the NSC was announced by Ismail Sabri during his security briefing on Thursday, 10 September. At the time, the Senior Minister had said that NSC decided to extend the operating hours after listening to many business operators who had complained about a lack of income.
"Many complaints, especially in tourist places like Langkawi. They are forced to close at 12am and since there is no entertainment they can only eat," Ismail said during his security briefing today, 10 September.
"These operators asked us if we can extend the time for them to operate and we agreed to it. This, however, is not just for Langkawi but also for all areas," he added.
DBKL said that daily observation of business premises has revealed the need for better compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO)
"It has been decided during the Kuala Lumpur Crisis Management Centre meeting yesterday, 11 September, that businesses can only operate until midnight during the RMCO," DBKL said in the statement.
"This uniformity would also allow for better monitoring of premises by DBKL and other agencies."
The RMCO, which was scheduled to expire on 31 August, has been extended to last till 31 December 2020 by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on 28 August.
