KUCHING: Datuk Lily Yong and her volunteer team plan to assist coffee shops and hawkers in the Kuching area by compiling and printing their names, contact information, and food items offered into a booklet to be distributed to the public.
The Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Kuching branch chairperson clarified that she was not representing any political party in this endeavour, adding that her volunteer team had about 15 members comprising herself, people from coffee shops and hawker markets, and other volunteers.
“We will put these compiled booklets in the banks, offices, and wherever for people to pick up. With this, people can ring up these food outlets and order their food and drink to be collected.”
She said that the volunteer group had gone to the ground and received a very positive response thus far.
“Over 100 people have heard about this and given us their names and phone numbers. These include those from the Open Air Market, Petanak Market, Song Kheng Hai Hawker Centre, and so on.”
She said they would start this initiative for the Kuching area, to be divided into zones.
“This booklet will be free of charge. We will print them and distribute them in the Kuching area,” she said, adding that the volunteer group would seek financial support to fund this initiative.
Yong said that aside from supporting these food outlets, this initiative would also help to minimise the chaos of people rushing around as they could easily call up and place their order first.
She said this during a ‘Meet the Eateries’ session held via Zoom on Friday (May 28), through which discussions were held with coffee shop owners, hawkers, and food stall owners who have been struggling throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are meeting them virtually with the objective of listening to them, and we try to find practical ways on how we can ensure that these businesses can continue.”
She said while many restaurants and eateries were already using the online platform, not all of them were – such as the hawkers and food stall owners.
“I feel that all of us have to work together to find a solution – we have to help ourselves in order to survive. The pandemic is going to go on for a while.”
On the movement control order imposed statewide here, she suggested that if the Covid-19 situation had improved after the two weeks of enforcement, the strategy of targeted lockdown could be used instead of a full lockdown.
“But if does not improve, then perhaps there is a necessity to continue the lockdown. I think most people suffer by repeatedly locking down and reopening.”
