The Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association (MSCSPGA) said it is planning to send a joint memorandum to Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin with associations such as the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) and the Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas).

MSCSPGA has about 20,000 members, Presma about 10,000 and Primas about 2,000.

“We have arrived at a common stand over the last two days and will be sending a joint memorandum to the government to appeal for looser restrictions,” said MSCSPGA president Ho Su Mong.

“Rental alone takes up about 20% to 30% of our members’ total costs each month, and our businesses cannot carry on if we are limited to takeaways.

“If the government doesn’t encourage people to come out and spend, the economy is going to get even worse.”

The first MCO, which started on March 18 last year, also saw restrictions on dine-in customers before Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin announced that restaurants and eateries would be allowed to welcome patrons back from May 4.

Apart from fewer customers at each table, strict SOPs also meant tables had to be placed 2m apart, the 1m physical distancing rule had to be observed at all times, and contract tracing was a must.

The limit on the number of diners ended last month before Muhyiddin’s announcement on Monday led to the second MCO, and a ban on dine-in customers once again.

With his members’ sales now just a fraction of their usual figure, Primas president J Govindasamy said he hoped to see the two diners per table rule introduced once again.

“Now with takeaways, we’re only making 20% of what we used to.

“What about our rental and workers’ salaries? This is going to further damage the economy.

“It’s not just us. There are a lot of other companies like the vegetable, seafood and poultry suppliers. We’re all going to be affected,” he said.

The Statistics Department valued the F&B sector’s output at RM82.8 billion in 2017, during which it employed 958,803 people.