‘Re-categorise blind massage centres, spas in order to resume operation’
KUCHING: Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong wants the Ministry of Local Government and Housing to re-categorise businesses like blind massage centres, spas and wellness centres so that they can immediately resume operations.
She said they had to be classified into a more specific category instead of being categorised as ‘entertainment outlets’.
“It is high time for the ministry to take immediate steps to re-categorise them, including entertainment centres, so that a proper and relevant Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOP) and measures can be crafted and implemented for them to resume operation in a safe environment,” she said in a statement yesterday.
She added that the spa and wellness industry people as well as blind masseurs in Kuching were pleading for help from the state government to allow them to resume businesses.
She also concurred that blind massage centres should not be classified under the entertainment category. The same applies to legitimate spas and wellness centres because masseurs, for instance, do not entertain per se but are more on wellness and health.
“As a result of the blanket ban on entertainment licences to operate, businesses like blind massage centres, spas and wellness centres are not allowed to resume business under the SOP which was announced on Nov 27 by Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC),” she said.
Yong urged the ministry to step in because they are in touch with the business community on a daily basis on the issuance of licences.
She said the ministry had failed its role to cushion the impact of Covid-19 on the business community due to their lackadaisical attitude.
“It has been nine months since the Covid-19 pandemic started. Minister of Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian should have already seen the need to direct officers in both the ministry and at the council level to start the recategorisation exercise of those businesses.”
She also called Dr Sim “a great disappointment” to his colleagues in SDMC .
“What has he done in the past nine months? Why must it always be the case that action could only be taken a er receiving public complaints?”
Yong, meanwhile, praised SDMC for doing a good job in flattening the Covid-19 curve.