Businesses reduce operating hours
PETALING JAYA: Businesses are
cutting down on their operating hours as people prefer to stay at home
at night due to safety reasons.
Among those that have reduced their operating hours are 24-hour clinics, restaurants, nasi kandar outlets, convenience stores and petrol stations in the Klang Valley, Penang and other main towns.
Malaysian Medical Council member and senior medical practitioner Dr Milton Lum said some 24-hour clinics had reduced their opening hours to between 13 and 18 while others tightened security.
“Many keep their main doors locked while the bigger clinics hire security guards, who do not come cheap,” he said.
National Consumer Complaints Centre deputy director K. Ravin said two petrol stations along Persiaran Raja Muda Musa in Kuala Lumpur, which used to operate around the clock, now open at 5am and close by midnight.
“They have cut their business hours after being robbed three times. At least five petrol station mini markets I know of no longer allow customers to browse inside – you can only make purchases by telling the staff what you want and he will pass you the items through a small opening at the cashier,” said Ravin.
He said one popular convenience store chain only allowed transactions via a small window after midnight.
Last week, police arrested five college students, believed to be responsible for a string of robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Sri Hartamas, Bandar Kinrara and Kelana Jaya.
Shafiq Mat Lazim, 26, a 7-Eleven manager in Damansara said customers could now only buy items through small windows in “dangerous areas”
.
“I know of outlets in quiet locations in the Klang Valley which lock their doors from midnight until 6am and some even have security guards.
“Here, we still allow people in but business has dropped at night. We used to have about 50 walk-ins after midnight but now it’s down to 20,” he said.
Two A4 posters showing CCTV pictures of people behaving suspiciously are seen on the glass door of a KK Mart outlet in Damansara Uptown.
The store’s supervisor who wished to be only known as Omar, 50, said the posters with the words “Perompak! Pencuri!” in bold, red fonts, were to alert customers.
“There’s a police contact number on the posters, to enable customers who see something amiss to act. We also train our staff to make sure they know what to do in the event of a robbery and the kinds of precautions to take,” he said, adding that the outlet also had its own “crime response team”.
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said syndicates and gangsters demanding protection money from nasi kandar operators was one of the reasons why some were reluctant to open for long hours, unlike before.
“Some of our members pay a few hundred ringgit monthly just so that these thugs don’t cause trouble at their shops,” he said.
The Star Online
Sunday 11 2013
Syawal 4 1434H
Among those that have reduced their operating hours are 24-hour clinics, restaurants, nasi kandar outlets, convenience stores and petrol stations in the Klang Valley, Penang and other main towns.
Malaysian Medical Council member and senior medical practitioner Dr Milton Lum said some 24-hour clinics had reduced their opening hours to between 13 and 18 while others tightened security.
“Many keep their main doors locked while the bigger clinics hire security guards, who do not come cheap,” he said.
National Consumer Complaints Centre deputy director K. Ravin said two petrol stations along Persiaran Raja Muda Musa in Kuala Lumpur, which used to operate around the clock, now open at 5am and close by midnight.
“They have cut their business hours after being robbed three times. At least five petrol station mini markets I know of no longer allow customers to browse inside – you can only make purchases by telling the staff what you want and he will pass you the items through a small opening at the cashier,” said Ravin.
He said one popular convenience store chain only allowed transactions via a small window after midnight.
Last week, police arrested five college students, believed to be responsible for a string of robberies at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Sri Hartamas, Bandar Kinrara and Kelana Jaya.
Shafiq Mat Lazim, 26, a 7-Eleven manager in Damansara said customers could now only buy items through small windows in “dangerous areas”
.
“I know of outlets in quiet locations in the Klang Valley which lock their doors from midnight until 6am and some even have security guards.
“Here, we still allow people in but business has dropped at night. We used to have about 50 walk-ins after midnight but now it’s down to 20,” he said.
Two A4 posters showing CCTV pictures of people behaving suspiciously are seen on the glass door of a KK Mart outlet in Damansara Uptown.
The store’s supervisor who wished to be only known as Omar, 50, said the posters with the words “Perompak! Pencuri!” in bold, red fonts, were to alert customers.
“There’s a police contact number on the posters, to enable customers who see something amiss to act. We also train our staff to make sure they know what to do in the event of a robbery and the kinds of precautions to take,” he said, adding that the outlet also had its own “crime response team”.
Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said syndicates and gangsters demanding protection money from nasi kandar operators was one of the reasons why some were reluctant to open for long hours, unlike before.
“Some of our members pay a few hundred ringgit monthly just so that these thugs don’t cause trouble at their shops,” he said.
The Star Online
Sunday 11 2013
Syawal 4 1434H
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