• Tenants and shopowners at Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza said business has plunged by up to 90 per cent
• They questioned the rationale for applying restrictions only on the two shopping centres
• One tenant suggested capping the number of people entering the malls instead 

SINGAPORE — They have been selling Filipino food and sweets at Lucky Plaza mall for the past two decades. 

Now, Mr Jesse Garbo and his wife Martha Chin, both 46, who run Pilipino Cafe, said that they might have to shut their eatery as early as next month, because entry restrictions at the shopping centre along Orchard Road have caused their earnings to plummet.

Since Aug 29, Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza, which is along North Bridge Road, have rolled out entry restrictions on weekends to manage the crowds as part of Covid-19 safe distancing measures. Entry is now based on visitors’ National Registration Identity Card (NRIC) number and Foreign Identification Number (FIN).

Those whose NRIC number and FIN end in an odd digit may visit the two malls only on weekend days that fall on an odd date, for example Saturday, Sept 5. Those whose identification numbers end in an even digit may visit the two places on weekend days that fall on an even date, such as Sunday, Sept 6.

The two shopping complexes attracted large crowds before the restrictions went into force, raising public concerns that they could be flashpoints for the spread of Covid-19. 

Lucky Plaza is frequented by Filipino domestic workers on Sundays, their usual rest days. Peninsula Plaza is often visited by Myanmar nationals. 

BUSINESS AT LUCKY PLAZA DOWN BY UP TO 90%

Mr Garbo and other tenants at Lucky Plaza told TODAY on Sunday (Sept 6) that their businesses have taken a large financial hit. 

Mr Garbo said: “Before the ‘odd-even’ restrictions, our business was already starting to pick up. Now, (it’s) again downhill… We have been losing a lot since Covid-19 started. If the Government continues to be like this, we will be forced to close.” 

His takings have tumbled by at least 90 per cent. And with rental waivers having ended in July, he and his wife worry that they might not be able to stay afloat until next month. 

“It's back to full rental… It’s very difficult,” Mr Garbo said. “I think (the authorities) were thinking when they do ‘odd-even’ restrictions, the crowds will be split into half, probably across Saturday and Sunday. But that’s not the case. On Saturday, there is nobody at all.”

Mr Garbo said that his eatery employs 10 Singaporeans and these workers will lose their jobs if he decides to put up the shutters. 

Ms Jes Chia, 53, runs photo printing studio I Love Customised and bedsheet retailer I Love Bazaar at Lucky Plaza. She said that business has fallen by at least 70 per cent. She used to earn about S$1,500 in sales on a Sunday before the restrictions were imposed.  

When TODAY spoke to her on Sunday at 3pm, she had earned less than S$200 for the day. 

She said that the entry restrictions meant that those who set foot in the mall on Sundays leave quickly, because their friends who cannot enter are waiting outside. 

Ms Chia said that she wrote to Education Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs a governmental task force overseeing Singapore’s response to the pandemic. The Singapore Tourism Board responded to her feedback by reiterating the restrictions, she said. 

Ms Chia said that the restrictions should apply not only to Lucky Plaza and Peninsula Plaza, but to every shopping centre — a suggestion she made to the authorities as well. 

“It's really not fair. (If) they don’t come to Lucky Plaza, they go to Ion Orchard, they go to Far East Plaza. It doesn’t make sense,” she said. 

Ms Gerlie Ariola, 47, who runs skincare product shop Sari Sari at Lucky Plaza where she is a tenant, said that business has slipped about 80 per cent.

Her Sunday earnings used to be around S$5,000, but she made only about S$1,000 when TODAY visited her shop on Sunday afternoon. 

“How to pay the rental, all the expenses?… (I am) very worried now.” 

She added that shoppers are discouraged from visiting even if they are allowed to, because of the long queues to enter and the heavy presence of safe-distancing ambassadors at the entrance to Lucky Plaza. 

She has had to leave her shop several times a day to hand items to her customers who are not allowed access, then queue to re-enter the mall. 

SLUGGISH FOOTFALL AT PENINSULA PLAZA 

At Peninsula Plaza, Mr Peter Nandwani, 78, who owns Indian Silk Store, said that the weekend crowds have all but disappeared with the entry restrictions. 

While he used to make between S$500 and S$600 on Sundays selling electronics, he earned less than S$100 when TODAY interviewed him on Sunday evening. 

“All the (shopkeepers) are 'dreaming', sitting down there, looking at the iPad, playing games,” he said. 

While Mr Nandwani owns the shop and does not have to pay rent, he said that he still needs money to put food on the table.

Despite the slowdown in business, he understands why the authorities have imposed the restrictions. 

Mr Chia Eng Hock, 72, who rents a space selling apparel at Peninsula Plaza, also said that he appreciates why Peninsula Plaza and Lucky Plaza have been identified as hot spots, owing to the huge crowds on weekends. 

However, the restrictions have sent takings at his shop, O’ Fashion, tumbling by at least 80 per cent. 

Instead of imposing restrictions based on the last digit of one’s identification number, he suggested that another option is to cap the total number of people entering the malls and refuse entry when that limit has been reached.

He added: “The Government can impose restrictions, but it should subsidise our rental fees, so it won’t be so hard on us.”