Kota Kinabalu: Warisan Strategic Communications Director Christopher Masudal said the State Government should be offering flexibility or a moratorium to struggling businesses, not imposing new burdens.
He called on the Penampang Municipal Council to defer its directive requiring restaurant and kopitiam operators to install organic waste disposal machines as a condition for business licence renewal.
“The increase in licensing fees and the directive to install organic waste machines in Penampang must be postponed,” he said in a statement, here.
“Hopefully this burdensome policy is not practised in other municipals or district local authorities given the current economic challenges faced by our local Sabah entrepreneurs, SMEs and all,” he added.
The council issued a circular on January 22 this year requiring food and beverage operators in Penampang to install the machines at their premises or risk being denied new or renewed business licences.
Christopher said the party had received numerous complaints from operators who viewed the directive as yet another financial imposition on businesses already grappling with rising costs.
Advertisement
While he said Warisan did not object to the Uniform (Segregation and Disposal of Organic Waste) By-Laws 2016 underpinning the requirement, he criticised the council for failing to consult affected businesses before issuing the circular.
He also raised concerns over procurement, saying operators had been informed the machines could only be sourced from a single supplier, a matter he described as requiring urgent clarification.
“Has this company been granted exclusive supplier status by the municipal? Were other local Sabah companies given the opportunity to participate? This is crucial, as the by-laws do not grant the authority to appoint a sole supplier,” he said.
Christopher, a former officer with the Malaysia Investment Development Authority who was involved in industrial policy development at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, said proper stakeholder engagement was standard practice in policymaking precisely to protect the livelihoods of industry players.
He questioned whether Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and the relevant state cabinet members under the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS)-led administration were aware of the financial strain many operators were already under, noting that some had exhausted personal savings or taken on bank loans simply to keep their businesses running.
“I stand firmly with the kopitiam and restaurant owners in Penampang, where many of them are people I have known since my childhood. Warisan will oppose any policy that is insensitive and fails to reflect the realities on the ground,” Christopher said.
