While the return of gigs, however unusual their format, has unlocked the lockdown lives of many in the nightlife economy, restaurant-bar owners are unhappy.
Some of them said they were unsure if they could host live music, claiming the new guidance was vague in its reference to commercial areas where resto-bars are located.
They said the rules make no mention of their outlets in commercial zones where live events are allowed along with hotel lounges, convention hubs and creative arts centres.
Several owners and musicians charged that hotels had received favourable treatment even as others in the fraternity greeted the sudden announcement by the government with delight.
On March 5, hospitality heavyweight Syed Yusof Syed Nasir urged the government to address the devastating impact of Covid-19 restrictions on the nightlife business, which revolves around live entertainment.
Syed Yusof had said the safety measures imposed on other crowd sectors could be similarly applied to live performance venues so that they could reopen.
Yesterday, he expressed gratitude to the government for alleviating the plight of the musicians and night-time industry stakeholders.
“When we look back, I hope that we learned many valuable lessons about life and use this new chapter in life to build a unified and stronger music community,” Syed Yusof said.
He said the move by Putrajaya was what the industry had been waiting for – “a restart of the battered sector”.
Music associations had lobbied for a partial opening of entertainment outlets initially to put musicians back to work as the pandemic ravaged live business and the music world locked its doors.
Some 300,000 creatives in the country, including around 10,000 musicians, have been jobless since the movement control order first came into force on March 18 last year.
“Finally, I feel free from anxiety,” said guitarist Colin Jansen, adding that the move to allow performances at hotel lounges with 50% capacity was a start towards reopening the nightlife industry.
“It has been a terrible time for musicians and business owners with plenty of tears but there is some relief now,” Jansen said.
Freddie Fernandez, president of the Malaysian Artistes’ Association (KARYAWAN), in thanking the government for reviving the health of the live music sector, said: “It’s been a long road and there may be further bumps along the way, but for now we are just excited to get going.
“Musicians, business owners, events people and music lovers are eager to soak up live entertainment again. They want to recapture normalcy.”
Fernandez said while there is a great hunger for live music than there has ever been, it will take time to recover from the snap shutdowns, audience restrictions and ban on international visitors that have plagued the industry.
“We have to do our best in a controlled environment with the stringent SOPs to ensure everyone’s safety and convince the authorities to completely reopen the industry,” he added.