By Shawaliah Hadir and Nabila Halim

KUALA LUMPUR – Yesterday, the government announced the approval for dine-in at eateries by limiting a table to only two diners.

During an observation by MalaysiaGazette today, majority of the people were excited as they can finally dine out after being restricted from doing so since the Movement Control Order (MCO) on 13 January 2021.

Diners were also spotted to be complying with the standard operating procedures (SOP) determined by the government.

For Siti Aminah Mat Zain, 40, sitting and dining at a restaurant even for a few minutes is a therapy as she could not leave home for a rather long time.

“I feel happy to be able to dine in a restaurant. I was merely staying at home before this. We’ll feel stressed if we can’t leave home to eat out for a long time,” she said.

When asked if she is worried to dine-in at a restaurant, Siti Aminah said that she would ensure that the restaurant complies with the standard operating procedures (SOP) as a precautionary measure before she dines in.

“Premises follow SOP. Covid-19 is with us and we need to be careful,” she added.

After dining in his car most of the time during working hours, Firdaus Zainol, 38 can finally take a breath of relief.

He said, his career as a marketing officer requires him to travel to many places for work, therefore, the prohibition to dine-in earlier was a hassle for him.

“I am happy as I can meet my clients now. Earlier, I ate mostly either in my car or in the office,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lawyer, Abdul Shukor Tokachil, 39, could not describe his feelings after the government announced that dine-in would be allowed although it is only limited to two person per table with physical distance of one meter.

“We could only takeaway our food and people who are working like me will have problem as we do not have enough of time to do so.

“However, Alhamdullilah (Thank God), we can dine in as usual now and I can see that the business premises are complying with the SOP determined by the government.

“To me, as Malaysians, we should obey the SOP for our own sake although the government has loosened the rules for the Movement Control Order (MCO) as this is the new normal that we need to get used to,” he said.

A retiree, Chai Weng Cheong, 68, said that he is delighted to be able to eat out at the restaurants with his friend.

“I have not left home for a while and I am starting to feel pressured as I am bored with the same mundane activities.

“I thank the government for considering and listening to the people.

“I hope that everyone can follow the SOP. If the cases increase again, there is a huge possibility for the government to retract all these,” he added.

An observation by MalaysiaGazette this morning found that several eateries at Bandar Tasik Permaisuri complied with the SOP well.

The police were also in the field as early as 9.30 am to monitor the public compliance of dining in the restaurants at the area. –MalaysiaGazette

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