DEJECTED over iconic Coliseum Café’s closure, former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said that many other restaurants and hawker stalls would be meeting the same fate if the Government does not intervene.
“Sad to hear that the iconic and historical Coliseum Café is shuttered for good. It did not get to celebrate its 100th year anniversary despite enduring the first movement control order (MCO) and other multiple half-baked lockdowns.
“But then I think to myself, there must be many other restaurants and stalls who may bite the dust as well if nothing is done to help them,” he said in a Facebook post.
Yesterday, The Malay Mail Online reported that Coliseum Café, located at Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, would be closed for good as its business got pummeled due to COVID-19.
Its marketing manager, Azrain Azman said the decision to close the café, established in 1921, was made after its tenancy expired.
“Yes, it is closed for good. We are saddened that we could not celebrate our 100th anniversary.
“We have not been able to sustain (the business) since the first MCO. We relied on dine-ins, and the regulars who used to visit the café couldn’t come because the city was in lockdown,” he was reported saying.
On that note, Najib said that a popular restaurant chain was also in dire condition, as it was issued a bankruptcy notice by a bank recently.
He added that it was unfair for the banks to victimise their customers when the nation is under public health crisis, affecting businesses and people’s livelihoods in general.
“Banks should know that no one is going to run away. We can’t even skip town due to movement restrictions. At best, we can only quarantine ourselves in hospitals or other healthcare premises.
“I just hope the Government will instruct banks to show some consideration during these trying times and allow people to bounce back from their predicament,” the Pekan MP remarked. – June 7, 2021
