Yesterday (5 Feb 2021), Defence Minister of Malaysia, Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri stated that restaurants in pubs and nightclubs would be allowed to operate, and its safe to say, netizens were nothing short of confused. 

As we accustomed ourselves to MCO 2.o, Sabri became the bearer of more bad news, as he announced an extension of our sorry state, earlier in the week, (2 Feb 2021). 

The MCO was confirmed to have further extended until the 18th of February 2021, and with it, a tightening on all SOPs throughout the country. This was due to the fluctuation in the number of positive cases on the daily, reaching up to over 5,500. 

Then, on the 5th of February, yesterday, dear old Sabri went ahead and announced resumed operations of barbers, carwashes and night markets. Besides that, the full list of businesses allowed to operate with SOPs, also included restaurants, food stalls, food trucks, roadside stalls, kiosks, AND restaurants in pubs and nightclubs. 

Nevertheless, the selling of food in all those places, were stated to be only allowed for take-away(s), drive-thru(s) and delivery purposes, from 6am to 10pm. 

Upon the announcement, netizens showed no restraint whatsoever, and it was clear that the mighty Internet had plenty to say, especially with regards to “tapau-ing” alcohol. 

Some even got creative enough to share images of how that would presumably look like:

The ruling was of course done as a means to help out restaurants in bars, pubs, and nightclubs during this very difficult time, with the hopes of businesses bouncing back. After all, desperate times, most always call for desperate measures. 

However, maybe it was the stress of it all, or maybe the grimmest of moments bring out the best humor. Wherever the cynical comments may have stemmed from though, it did indeed give us a good laugh.