11 June 2015
MAMAK Restaurant is always available and 24 hours open whenever you are hungry or need to find a place to hang out at night. Even during wee hours. Foods are limited though and mostly have "curry" flavours. Their service is fast if compared to other food and restaurant by industry standard. Their peculiar identity is that they are manned by mamak (you may refer to google dictionary for the meaning).
We Malaysians have mamak people. Although they are considered the minority but they are strong in business and better off economically. In recent years, we have been witnessing the popularity of 24 hours restaurants ballooning. Almost every place in big cities and towns through out Malaysia has a mamat restaurant.
While having 24 hours restaurants are convenient to the patrons, the excessive number of restaurants also bring about negative problems that partly contribute to the overall issues facing by the country. The perceived large number of foreign workers. Running a three shifts 24 hours restaurant, the need to maintain the image 'fast, efficient and curry taste' and a la carte service demand not a small number of workers. The restaurant operators are to make sure customers receive the service within seconds upon they enter the premise. It leaves the operators with no choice but to hire more people as food servers, or waiters and cooks (chef) as well as cleaners.
The major obstacle is that there is almost 'none' Malaysians are willing to work at mamak's restaurants. As a matter of fact, other categories of restaurants are also facing the same predicaments.
Therefore, mamak restaurants opted for non-Malaysians. They have to keep the business running. It is a common knowledge that the majority of Malaysian mamak restaurants survive because of foreign workers. Their main source of foreign workers is from India. Some of them but very few getting people from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and northern eastern part of Myanmar for reasons only known to them.
Economically, Malaysia should not prohibit businesses from expanding. Businesses generate incomes, create employments. produce entrepreneurs and spin-off activities along its supply chains. However, the government must have a regulation in place to check the negative effects from business activities. We do not want the activities create another problems such as the presence of huge foreigners community in the country.
Nevertheless, many people on the streets have a strong believe that mamak restaurants employ too many foreign workers. Their business model of 24 hours operation and full service oriented are the contributors to high demand for the workers. The situation seems unresolved effectively because the difficulties in getting locals to work due to long hours conditions, low pay, poor image perception by the public and the availability of jobs in other industries. The current local regulations also play the roles that contribute to the increase of new openings of mamak restaurants.
If we are serious in dealing with the influx of foreign workers in Malaysia, the government must be brave enough to formulate policies that are able to tackle the issue.
For example, having a place the law or regulation limiting the operation hours of food provider restaurants at certain places. We also may explore new guidelines that promotes self service operation as what we did to petrol service stations several years back then.
There must be a political will to institute the new laws but if it is for the good of the nation, why not we try it? Moreover, we Malaysians must keep a healthy lifestyle. Eating habit should follow healthy schedules. 'Lepak' at mamak restaurants during wee hours should be replaced with spending more times with family members at home and many more positive results could be harvested in the future.
It is just like whether we want to do it or we are lazy to do it!
Author: saupee
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