SINGAPORE: For a second time in two months, Mr Frank Per has had to prepare his family-style karaoke business in Paya Lebar for an extended closure.
Sing My Song Family Karaoke took a one-month hiatus in mid-May when dining-in was banned as part of the “Phase Two (Heightened Alert)” curbs. The local karaoke joint had turned to selling finger food and ice cream since last December. Its core business – singing – remains prohibited under current COVID-19 protocols.
When it was announced on Friday (Jul 16) that all nightlife establishments operating as F&B businesses had to be shuttered for two weeks, Mr Per started going through a checklist that he was already very familiar with.
“I am now packing the food that will expire within two weeks, so that we can bring them home or give away,” he told CNA on Friday evening.
With a sigh, he added: “This on-and-off (closure) is happening quite frequently … so we are now very experienced with what to do.”
The latest slew of tightened measures comes amid a growing COVID-19 cluster linked to several KTV lounges that were believed to have breached the rules after converting to F&B operations. The move to shutter all pivoted nightlife businesses until Jul 30 will affect more than 400 operators.
“Disappointed? Yes. I’m also feeling a loss of direction because this is happening so fast after the heightened alert,” said Mr Per.
“With the cluster becoming bigger, we don’t know if this will last for only two weeks.”
“ALL OF US HAVE BEEN TRYING SO HARD”
Owners of nightlife establishments who spoke with CNA said they had been bracing for stricter curbs as the number of infections grew rapidly over the past week. Even then, they could not help feeling disappointed at the extent to which the business suspension was applied.
A majority of those that pivoted have been compliant with the rules, they added.
“Be it nightclub, KTV with hostesses or family karaoke, we are all put together in the same category of nightlife business so if anything was done, nobody can escape,” said Mr Per. “But we are very different from them.”
Family-style karaoke joints are typically located in shopping malls and offer pocket-friendly prices that cater to a wide demographic ranging from students to families, he added. Some also have a no-alcohol policy.
To ride out the lull, these operators have pivoted to serving food and drinks or offering their rooms as work and study spaces. Business owners have had to spend money to convert their premises and the income from F&B has been “insignificant” to ebb losses, said Mr Per.
Sing My Song Family Karaoke converted to a food-and-beverage outlet selling finger food and ice cream. It also allows people to rent its spaces for work at an hourly rate. (Photo: Sing My Song Family Karaoke/Facebook)
With the sector already hanging by a thread, the swelling cluster linked to KTV lounges has sparked a backlash against karaoke venues in general, noted Mr Rain Li, who owns family karaoke K.Star.
Landlords seem to be “disappointed” with the latest turn in events and some have said that they will be ending rental support this month, he added. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment has turned “very negative” going by comments on social media.
“This is the biggest blow for our industry so far,” said Mr Li in Mandarin. “All of us have been trying so hard … To say I’m aggrieved may even be the weakest form of expression now.”
This is why Mr Li and Mr Per, together with seven other family karaoke operators, are petitioning for authorities to give them a separate classification from other nightlife businesses. They also hope to be allowed to operate under strict safety measures, such as having patrons who have been fully vaccinated.
“We really hope that the authorities will relook this,” said Mr Per.
“WE ARE PENALISED”
At nightclub-turned-diner Nineteen80, the announcement on Friday came about an hour after it had started business for the day. A handful of guests had just sat down and were making their orders.
“They were shocked and in disbelief when we told them that we had to close. One guest was like ‘I didn’t expect you to have to close. I thought this was just related to KTV lounges’,” said Mr Joshua Pillai, co-founder of entertainment group A Phat Cat Collective, which owns Nineteen80.
Staff members also had to scramble to inform customers who held reservations for the next two weeks.
Mr Pillai said while tighter measures to stem out community transmissions were necessary and understandable, authorities could have focused on those that have flouted the rules instead.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think all of us have to do our part and follow the safety measures but a lot of the comments going on are about nightlife businesses that pivoted to F&B,” he said.
“This has got nothing to do with the category in general. Many of us on the pivot programme are innocent people who followed the guidelines properly.
“This is to do with a bunch of people doing illegal activities … and it is unfortunate that we are penalised for some who break the law.”
“GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER”
For the next two weeks, authorities will conduct checks on all pivoted nightlife establishments to ensure they have the required safety protocols in place. All employees will also have to undergo COVID-19 testing.
Outlets will only be allowed to resume operations after Jul 30 if they pass the inspection and receive approval from the Singapore Food Agency, said the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) in a press release.
MSE also said it would suspend applications from nightlife operators seeking to pivot “given the recent flagrant safe management measures breaches”. This suspension will be in force for three months, pending further review.
Speaking at a COVID-19 multi-ministry task force press conference on Friday, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the need for these actions come as “there is a real risk that the cases from these clusters would have spread to the community”.
“Especially if there are individuals who have not come forward for testing – and we suspect there are such individuals – and they would have spread the virus to the people around them. Potentially, this means that we can see very large clusters emerging over the coming weeks,” he added.
Mr Wong, who is co-chair of the task force, also said: “I think the onus is very much now on the (Singapore Nightlife Business Association) and its members to show us that they can get their act together and behave properly.”
Asked for its response, Singapore Nightlife Business Association (SNBA) president Joseph Ong said: “I think Minister Wong is right – we, as an industry, did not do this well and we will have to make sure that we do not make the same mistake again.
“We will have to go back and look at how this happened. Those that were supposed to pivot but did not will need to be penalised and understand that a mistake can actually create a big problem for the rest of the country.”
The two-week suspension is a “very heavy approach” by the Government, Mr Ong said, adding that he understands why some businesses are disappointed because they have complied with the rules.
However, it is not all bad, he said. The thorough testing of employees during the two-week suspension will help the industry to “come out without worrying if there’s some reservoir of cases still lying around”.
“So that, ironically, helps the industry to move forward,” he said.
Apart from helping the Government to ensure pivoted nightlife businesses have the right business model and safety protocols in place, the industry association will also be reaching out to major alcohol suppliers.
“We have all along had discussions but I’m calling for a meeting with everyone to look at how this cluster was formed, whether there were early warnings about what was going on and if we can come up with mitigation points to avoid another situation like this,” said Mr Ong.
SNBA said it has also reached out to the relevant authorities to consider extending the temporary bridging loans for nightlife operators, as repayments are coming up.
“Vaccination is on track … and hopefully the situation gets better by National Day,” said Mr Ong.
“That should be everyone‘s focus right now. If we can just get our act together and get rid of all the problematic pivoters, we will probably be in a much better position for the rest of the year.”
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