It said mall management has no control over the number of outlets visited by customers and are unable to keep track of their movements at any one time as shoppers come in from multiple entrances and leave via various exits.
The number of shoppers in malls is “perpetually transient as they arrive and depart at any time”, it said.
Yesterday, the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry said customers will only be allowed to spend up to two hours at retail premises, including shopping malls, as part of the SOPs under the latest phase of movement restrictions.
The number of customers will be limited to one person per 4 sq metres, while the number of employees at retail, wholesale, distribution premises and shopping malls, including management, operations and support staff, will be capped at 60%, it said.
In a statement, the association said not only was it impractical to stop a shopper to check on their time of entry, it did not “have the authority to do so”.
Should enforcement authorities be asked to undertake this, it would be akin to a “police state”, it said.
“The onus would be on shoppers to discipline themselves to the two-hour limit and not for malls to enforce.
“Thus, we are totally opposed to any attempt to penalise the mall and retailers for such misdemeanour,” it said.
The association said the only practical way was to put up signs at entrances and common areas and to advise businesses to do similarly at their premises.
Malls could also make announcements, where applicable, to remind shoppers.
It said that since the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, car parking records had shown that shoppers were already spending between one and one-and-a-half hours at malls. The average before the pandemic was three hours.
It also said business premises within the mall were already controlling their capacity, limiting it to 4 sq m per person, and the maximum numbers must be displayed at the entrances.
This, the association said, was sufficient crowd control.
It also said there was no longer any occasion where shoppers could congregate at common areas because events, exhibitions and promotion activities were now prohibited.
“We do acknowledge that the authorities are aiming for tighter control but again, such measures must both be practical and doable, otherwise it does not serve the objective, and we reiterate that we are here to work together to find practical solutions,” it said.