PASIR MAS – The Rantau Panjang tax-free zone here, which was quiet following the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), came back to ‘life’ after the order was lifted in some districts in Kelantan since yesterday.
The atmosphere in the shopping ‘paradise’ was lively with most traders returning to do business. It could be likened to waking up from a long ‘slumber’.
Bag trader Yakob Abdul Ahad, 43, said he reopened his store after the government issued an order to allow inter-district and inter-state travel.
“It has been several weeks since traders here earned a decent income. Alhamdulillah, I hope the business atmosphere will be enlivened with the presence of visitors from other states.
“There was a drop in the number of visitors following the announcement of the CMCO earlier and due to the floods that hit the state. I expect them to return gradually,” he told Bernama.
Business activities in the tax-free zone were affected after the government decided to enforce the CMCO in Kelantan from Nov 21 to Dec 6, following the sharp increase in COVID-19 cases in several districts and sub-districts in the state.
Yakob said he was busy cleaning his shop at the Rantau Panjang Market which was last opened in mid-November.
Another trader, Indera Muslim, 47, said she also reopened her business, selling bags and shirts, from yesterday.
“Since last month, the shop has been closed and I have just opened it. Hopefully, visitors come and provide an income for the traders here.
Apart from COVID-19, traders here are also wary of the next wave of floods. The other day, the flooding was not so severe and the current weather is quite good and the floods are receding,” she said.
A Bernama check around the Pasir Mas district also found the weather to be hot since this morning.
— BERNAMA
