2-Hour Shopping Time Limit Will Be Monitored Via MySejahtera

MySejahtera check-ins to help with shopping time limit

A nationwide MCO was implemented back on 12th May 2021 in hopes of bringing COVID-19 cases down in Malaysia. But with daily cases surpassing the 6,000 mark for 5 straight days now a worrisome reality, new SOPs and revisions to previous ones have since been announced.

Among the latest list of SOPs is a time limit of 2 hours for shopping excursions. After confusion as to how this would be monitored among the public, authorities have clarified that it will be done via MySejahtera. Over 2,200 personnel will help out with spot checks, while Malaysians were also called upon to practise self-discipline while out too.

Time stamp of entries to help out

Safety guidelines that rely on MySejahtera were announced with the implementation of MCO 3.0.

This includes a filtering of individuals allowed into public spaces. Only those categorised as “Low Risk” – or those who aren’t close contacts of COVID-19 positive patients, or casual contacts with no symptoms – are allowed into business premises, as stated by the National Security Council.

Now, the app will also be used to help monitor individuals’ time spent at retail places, such as shopping malls. There will be a 2-hour shopping time limit clause in the revised SOPs that’ll come into effect tomorrow, 25th May.

Customers will be limited based on the capacity of the space too, with one person per 4sqm.

Image credit: Mid Valley Megamall

According to Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi, the time stamp of entry that appears on MySejahtera upon check-ins for contact tracing will come into play with the new SOP, as reported by New Straits Times.

It’ll help count “down to the second” of every shopper’s excursion.

Shop owners are called upon to remind their customers of the shopping time limit, and monitor them too, via MySejahtera. Over 2,200 enforcement personnel are said to be doing spot checks nationwide too.

Likewise, Malaysians are called to practise self-discipline and time themselves while shopping, so they aren’t breaching any SOPs.

Malaysia Shopping Malls Association call new SOP impractical

However, the new SOPs haven’t been welcomed with open arms by the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association.

According to a report by Malay Mail, the association agreed that the new guidelines will help to curb the spread of the virus during these trying times, but called it “impractical”. They also stated that it would be difficult for malls to keep an eye on and manage every shopper that walks through their doors.

They explained that the number of parking lots at a mall are based on the capacity of the space – 1 lot per 40sqm. Based on the current 3 passengers per vehicle limit, a reduction in the number of shoppers at malls during this period is likely.

They also cited car parking records, saying that the time shoppers spent in malls during the pandemic have dropped from an average of 3 hours, pre-COVID-19 days, to 1-1.5 hours. So there might be no need for any actions to be taken at the moment to make sure people adhere to the new SOPs.

Shopping time limit for excursions during MCO 3.0

It goes without saying that we should all be limiting our outdoor excursions by now, with the highest daily cases of 6,976 in Malaysia recorded yesterday, 23rd May. This new 2-hour shopping time limit guideline that’s being enforced tomorrow, 25th May, will hopefully help with crowd control, if there are any still in retail outlets and more.