Abstract
SME restaurants have reported declined earnings and faced challenges to remain open during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period imposed by the Malaysian government due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. SME decision-makers were observed to be making changes regarding their day-to-day operations and management strategies to mitigate MCO restrictions. This paper aims to review the significant adaptations made by SME restaurants in Malaysia throughout the MCO period. Three (3) prominent areas of adaptations made by decision-makers have been identified based upon ceaseless news reports and media contents. The adaptations made commonly depict actions to (i) Nurture Creativity, (ii) Sustain Reputation, and (iii) Maintain Profitability. The outcomes of this paper provide essential survival guides for SME restauranteurs to embrace the COVID-19 outbreak. These can be helpful to related policy and decision-makers to implement the crucial traits of SME restaurants to reduce the impact on SME restaurants for the foreseeable future.
Highlights
The social-distancing order enforced to flatten the COVID-19 curve has disproportionally impacted Malaysia's restaurant sector
Malaysia's government have since cooperated with the Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) to provide a "stimulus package" for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) businesses to ward off the economic disaster in the face of this outbreak, which includes: (i) SMEs receive a six-month moratorium on some government loans, (ii) RM5 billion worth of guarantees for SMEs that face difficulties in obtaining loans, (iii) RM4.5 billion of additional funds coming through three facilities targeted at micro-credit schemes, all-sector facilities, and a special relief facility, (iv) employers are entitled to deferred payments, restructuring, and rescheduling of employer contributions to the employees' provident fund and a moratorium on Human Resources Development Fund (HDRF) payments for six months (Whitehead, 2020)
This paper reviewed the significant adaptations made by SME restaurants in Malaysia throughout the Movement Control Order (MCO) period through multiple primary and secondary literature utilizing a pragmatic approach
Summary
The social-distancing order enforced to flatten the COVID-19 curve has disproportionally impacted Malaysia's restaurant sector. Malaysia's government have since cooperated with the Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) to provide a "stimulus package" for SME businesses to ward off the economic disaster in the face of this outbreak, which includes: (i) SMEs receive a six-month moratorium on some government loans, (ii) RM5 billion worth of guarantees for SMEs that face difficulties in obtaining loans, (iii) RM4.5 billion of additional funds coming through three facilities targeted at micro-credit schemes, all-sector facilities, and a special relief facility, (iv) employers are entitled to deferred payments, restructuring, and rescheduling of employer contributions to the employees' provident fund and a moratorium on Human Resources Development Fund (HDRF) payments for six months (Whitehead, 2020) These substantial initiatives were not widely applauded without their criticisms as well. Ismail (2020) emphasised that customers will still be anxious to dine at restaurants for the coming
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
