Setting up new ventures to avoid laying off workers

Published on: Sunday, September 05, 2021

By: Lorena Binisol and Nikko Fabian

Text Size:

Jeannette and her therapists now turn to homecooking business.

HEADING successful businesses during pre-Covid-19 days, some bosses have decided to venture into new areas to stay afloat as well as ensure their loyal staff are not left high and dry.

Or worse, laid off due to the SOPs imposed to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

Concern for the welfare of her 20 staff that had been out of job because of the pandemic, spa operator Datin Jeannette Tambakau, took the initiative to “create jobs” for them.

Being leaders in the industry she said they cannot be seen to be giving up. So she ventured into home catering and her staff became kitchen assistants to earn some income in the meantime.

“I have a responsibility to see to their wellbeing in order to stay intact, sane and most importantly not giving up hope despite this predicament we all are facing.

“There are people out there who lost hope because of economy, stranded at home not able to bring food to the family. They go into depression or even having suicidal thoughts.

“I needed to be quick to act and a short-term solution, is better than nothing at all,” she said.

Some of her staff were renting rooms in the city, confined in their rooms and could drown themselves into negativity.

During the first MCO in 2020, a few staff chose to go back to their respective hometowns.

The spa industry was not allowed to operate by the authorities. Hence, the food business was too tempting.

Helping her mother prepare traditional food at home back in the early days became one of her best life lessons.

“My childhood was surrounded with food preparation. I grew up knowing a lot of stuff in the kitchen as my mother, who is a Nyonya descendant from Ipoh, cooked food for sale.

“We came from poor background so we needed to sell food for livelihood,” she said.

That concept remained with her till today and applied to help others to get by in life.

From cutting vegetables to cleaning, packing and even final touch of the packaging, Jeannette would engage her staff to do it all for the sake of experiencing how to organise tasks in food business.

Her most sought after dishes are Nasi Ulam, Mee Siam and Nyonya Penang Laksa. She was thankful to her mother who insisted that everyone must know how to cook to survive.

She wants to share her family’s traditional recipes with the people of Sabah who had been generous and supportive of her. Her ingredients are mostly home-grown and organic.

“Of course, for some of the items I had to go to the big market such as Bunga Kantan and Daun Kesum.

“It is time to plant our own herbs so we can just pluck from our backyards instead of getting out of the house to look for the stuff,” she said.

As kitchen assistants, her staff are paid RM30 per day.

“At least it eased them with their expenses,” said Jeannette.

She said friends via social media encouraged her to do home cooking for sale.

“I posted my home cooked photos in Facebook, as during the MCO (2020). I was very free and home-bound, so I did all the cooking using my mum’s recipe.

“I did not expect friends to be overjoyed and encouraged me to start home business. So I did,” she said smiling.

She still uses the traditional mortal pounder (instead of blender) to mince her ingredients.

“It really makes a whole lot of difference when you pound manually and with blender. This is one of the secrets,” she said.

She also started planting all kinds of herbs needed for her cooking.

Meanwhile, Desa Greens Mini Mart established initially to prevent retrenchment of staff of a local-based tour company due to the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic is here to stay.

“Desa Greens Mini Mart located at Pavillion Bundusan in Penampang will continue to operate even after Covid-19 is gone,” the management confirmed.

Described as Plan B business survival strategy to overcome the many difficulties confronted by the tour operator and employees as a result of strict implementation of SOP restrictions (Emco/MCO), Borneo Trail Tours and Travel Sdn Bhd in January decided to open the outlet.

The business model was the brainchild of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Tan Kok Liang, who is also national president of Malaysian Associations of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta).

Borneo Trails Tours and Travel Director for Sales, Moh Yunus Sampeh, said the initial objective of Desa Green Mini Mart was to safeguard the employment aspects of its 50 over staff and maintain operational monthly expenses of the Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan offices.

“Majority if not all tourism players both in Sabah and elsewhere in the country agreed that the tourism sector is badly affected by the negative effects of the (still counting) 18-month coronavirus global pandemic.

“It took my boss and management team two months to decide whether or not to turn the noble business idea into a reality,” he said.

While tour operation is completely put on hold temporarily, Yunus is now helping Desa Green Mini Mart Manager Bernadette Jiliu in the daily operation of the new business endeavour.

He confirmed that Desa Green Mini Mart is here to stay even after the pandemic because of the encouraging response from the buying public since its doors opened last January.

He said the outlets provide varieties of fresh fruits (local/imported), vegetables, and chicken meat to mention a few at a reasonable prices.

“Our outlet adopts a green concept and business friendly... our staff are service-oriented because of their experiences and trainings in the tourism field,” Yunus said, adding the outlet also offering varieties of delicious food meals for dine-in and takeaway orders.

“We are also proud to promote our Hainanese chicken rice which is being favoured by many of our customers.”

Replying to a question, Yunus said some staff opted for unpaid leave with assurance of re-employments after the pandemic while others accepted the company’s reasonable salary pay cut.

He said Borneo Trails Tours and Travel is hopeful and looking forward for the return of the old good days of the local tourism industry soon if not too soon.

“Both the Federal and Sabah governments are doing its level best to address the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Let’s not forget that it is not the sole responsibility of the government to combat the life-threatening health crisis.

“We, the rakyat, must give our undivided support to our government to be victorious in the battle,” Yunus stressed.

‘There are people out there who lost hope because of economy, stranded at home not able to bring food to the family. They go into depression or even having suicidal thoughts.’

– Jeannette

Jeannette, concerned with the wellbeing of her staff, said she started her homecooked food business so she could utilise their services for their own good.