KUALA LUMPUR (July 3): Retail and shopping mall associations today sent an "urgent and desperate plea" to the Malaysian government to reopen the retail sector by July 15, or when 10% of the population is fully vaccinated.

As of yesterday (July 2), 18.7% of the population had received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, while 7.5% of the population had been fully inoculated after getting their second dose, according to data released earlier today from the Covid-19 Vaccine Supply Access Guarantee Special Committee (JKJAV).

At a joint media conference today, a group of shopping malls and retailers associations said they welcomed the news that the vaccination programme had been accelerated and that more than 10% of the population would likely be vaccinated with two doses by July 15.

“We are making a desperate appeal for all malls and all retail outlets to reopen by July 15, 2021, or when the 10% vaccination target is achieved, whichever is earlier (except for those operations that cannot meet the social distancing criteria and would be crowding),” the group said, in view of the vaccination progress made.

The group comprises the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPK), the Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA), the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA), the Bumiputera Retailers Organization (BRO), the Malaysian REIT Managers Association (MRMA), and the Malaysian Association of Theme Park and Family Attractions (MATFA).

The group said the current enhanced movement control order (EMCO) imposed all over the country is causing unnecessary damage to the retail sector.

“Going forward, we trust that any lockdowns will be judiciously determined based on the locality and neighbourhoods that are infected with significant clusters, and not to impose nationwide lockdowns unnecessarily and penalise those areas that are low-risk.

“Those economic sectors that have diligently operated under strict SOPs (standard operating procedures) and achieved a low-risk environment should be encouraged and not be made to suffer for the inability of those that have caused the infections due to their lackadaisical non-compliance with the SOPs,” they said.

The group highlighted that Ministry of Health (MOH) data revealed that the retail and shopping sector, including outside shopping areas, contributed merely 0.8% of all cases in May 2021.

“This significantly improved and extremely low figure testifies to the retail and mall industry’s strict adherence to the SOPs,” they said.

The retail sector, they noted, contributed 34.6% (RM497 billion) of Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018.

"It cannot be denied that the shopping mall and retail industry contributes significantly to our economy and foreign direct investment (FDI) by new brands and retailers, and we must make all efforts to preserve the performance of the sector. Our market size is relatively small and it is challenging to entice foreign brands to our country to add diversity for attracting tourists, thus we need to make all efforts to retain those who already have a presence in our country. Currently, without tourist arrivals, this is even more critical considering that we can only rely on domestic consumption to pull through the current precarious period," the group said.

It also noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) had cautioned against lockdowns as they would result in extreme economic damage, particularly affecting those in lower-income groups.

“We have to accept that [Covid-19] will remain part of our lives moving forward and the economy cannot afford to remain closed continually. Otherwise, we foresee that almost 500,000 employees engaged in the shopping mall and retail industry will eventually be laid off," it said, adding that such massive lay-offs come with business failures and shop closures — including mega shopping malls and retail brands — from which the industry may never recover.

"All of us, whether we are malls or retail operators, have been valiantly struggling for the past 16 months with critical cash flows just to keep our heads above water and any prolongation will simply be the final knell for our businesses and the industry as a whole.

"We cannot afford to give up and again urgently appeal to the authorities to give us at least a fighting chance to help ourselves to survive and start on the precarious journey to a recovery. Based on the above, we desperately appeal to the authorities to allow the entire retail sector, which is not at risk, to reopen immediately, especially shopping malls and retail shops including street-front shops, indoor playland and family entertainment attractions, with strict compliance with the stringent SOPs," the group added.