PETALING JAYA: Mamak restaurants say they will do their part to help stem the rising cost of living by maintaining their current prices.
Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) secretary-general Habebur Rahman Shahul Hameed said they “do not want to add to the people’s burden”.
He said as long as they could manage their business and account for costs, restaurant operators were not looking at increasing their prices.
“If there is an increase in the materials we use, if we can somehow manage the cost, we would not be looking at hiking prices.
“Right now, we are just (managing) the shortage of eggs and other issues. I personally have to go out to the supermarket and shops to buy stuff. So, similarly with the worker shortage, we are just coping with ad hoc measures to keep our businesses open,” he told The Star.
Habebur said the cost issue was discussed at length during the Presma annual general meeting on Wednesday.
“We discussed the rising cost of living and the shortage of eggs and workers, which we hope the new government can help resolve. We will do what we can on our end,” he added.
On the supply of eggs, Habebur who owns Jati Nasi Kandar restaurant in Kelana Jaya, said the situation was something many people were facing.
He added that his restaurant had sourced its supply from various places to ensure it had enough eggs.
Original Penang Kayu Nasi Kandar managing director Burhan Mohamed also pledged to do his part.
“There are a lot of factors to consider like the strengthening of the US dollar and petrol prices. All these factors have to be seen as they affect our business directly.
“The staffing issue is getting better. Supply issues are ongoing – we have one supplier for eggs, so if they can’t give enough, they come back the next day,” he added.
Burhan said in terms of pricing, items were already between 3% and 7% higher, but said this was still within a reasonable range.
“Our service also needs to be fast because customers dislike waiting too long,” he added.
Fatimah Ghous, director of a chain of restaurants named after her, said she would continue to maintain prices because of the hardship faced by the people.
“We have not thought about any increment because we don’t want to burden our customers.
“Our restaurants are located in the suburbs, so we understand the base,” she added.
During the Presma AGM, the main office bearers including president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan and Habebur were returned unopposed.
