By Doreenn Leong
AS more businesses are being allowed to operate under Phase 3 of the Movement Control Order (MCO), there was a sense of relief as businesses are already reeling from the severe loss of income during the period.
But many have questioned the government’s rationale in allowing barber shops and hair salons to operate during the extended MCO which ends on April 28.
Surely getting a haircut is not deemed as a necessity for now, and even the hairstylists and barber shop operators are at a loss as to how to do so without coming into close contact with their customers.
Thankfully, the government yesterday announced that barber shops and hair salons are to remain closed during the MCO.
The government has also extended some kind of lifeline for other businesses, allowing them to apply to operate during the MCO period. The response was overwhelming to the extent that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry’s (MITI) website crashed as it could not cope with the surge in applications.
As the ministry vets the applications, one sector that is becoming more important to Malaysians as they work and play from home is telecommunications.
Like it or not, for many of us, being forced to work from home requires the necessary tools to do so. Having reliable internet and mobile services is crucial as we communicate via chatting apps and video conferencing.
Kudos to telcos for giving 1GB daily free data, but many are already subscribed to their services under a postpaid contract or prepaid cards.
But what happens when you can no longer access your home internet?
Imagine if you have to conduct your daily meetings via video conferencing and have to rely on your home internet and you face service interruptions or somehow you are not able to connect to your internet service.
You try calling the help desk of your respective telco provider and they can only offer help remotely via “resetting the network”, but if this doesn’t work (in most cases, it doesn’t), you will have to wait for the technician to come.
But you will have to wait until the MCO is lifted for the technicians to help you as they are only able to attend to faulty services coming from critical sectors such as hospitals.
So, what can users do in the meantime? We can only wait with bated breath for the MCO to be lifted so that we can get the technician to come over.
Users can’t be using their mobile data, which may be very limited, to conduct daily or twice daily meetings via video conferencing. Mobile users might not be able to afford to pay for high-speed unlimited data offered by the telcos.
As such, the telcos or internet service providers should offer rebates or waivers to users who are unable to connect to the vital services during the MCO.
Although the rates offered by telcos for internet services have reduced thanks to the previous Pakatan Harapan-led government, they are still not cheap in absolute terms.
For instance, TM’s lowest rate for its home fibre broadband is RM79 per month for 60GB data usage which is a basic plan for light surfing activities.
If users face internet interruptions during the MCO period, they should be compensated since the telco providers are unable to fulfil their service obligations.
Given the uncertainties on whether there will be another MCO extension, perhaps the government should give the green light to telco operators to perform physical checks or repairs at the users’ premises but under a certain standard operating procedure to adhere to safety guidelines during this period. – April 14, 2020
