Penang hotel pivots to selling S$1 roadside hawker dishes after M'sia's MCO decimates tourism

Malaysians are currently not allowed to travel to different states or districts.

Andrew Koay | February 05, 2021, 03:25 PM

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"Three ringgti! Three ringgit!"

A Penang hotel manager has taken to setting up a roadside food stall outside the hotel, as Malaysia's movement control order (MCO) continues to devastate the country's tourism industry.

According to the Malay Mail — citing a Bernama report — Red Rock Hotel manager Jeffrey Lim set up the stall together with his staff in an effort to generate income for the hotel.

On Feb. 4, the stall was selling tomyum meehoon, fried rice, and chicken rice — all cooked by the hotel's chefs.

A viral video by Bernama showed Lim holding a placard reading "RM3 only", enthusiastically encouraging and waving down would-be customers.

"This is actually to help the staff, to help the hotel survive during the Covid times," he said in the video.

"We cannot depend on much; there's nothing much from the government for the hotel industry."

Lim said the menu would change each week and that all the items would cost RM3 (S$1).

Malay Mail reported that the response had so far been positive and that 150 packs of food had been sold from 7am to 10am on Feb. 2.

MCO 2.0

Malaysia recently extended its MCO by two weeks, following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

This came after the country had already imposed what was dubbed the MCO 2.0 in mid-January, a stricter lockdown than Malaysia had previously experienced.

MCO 2.0 was meant to expire on Feb. 4 but will now run till at least Feb. 18

According to The Straits Times, the lockdown will prevent Malaysians from travelling between states or districts, among other restrictions.

Roadblocks will also be set up to limit travel to a 10km radius from one's home, and only two people per household are allowed to head out to buy groceries.

Malaysia reported 4,571 new cases of Covid-19 on Feb. 4.

In total, the Southeast Asian country has recorded more than 231,000 infections and 826 deaths.

Top image from Google Maps and screenshot from Bernama

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