Is It Against Malaysia’s Lockdown Rules to Be Served Food in the Car?

This topic was covered in BM here. 

If restaurant and cafe owners were able to survive the first lockdown in March last year, many couldn’t the second. With the third one now ongoing and a stricter lockdown starting 1 June, many more businesses are expected to be shuttered for good this time. F&B business owners who are still hanging on have had to get creative, including offering in-car dining services during lockdowns, which means they serve you your tray of food while you are sat in your parked car.

Aah, this brings back fond memories of drive-in meals at A&W, when special trays laden with rootbeer mugs and coney dogs were hooked over your car windowsill…anyone else old enough to remember this?

These enterprising restaurants of today offer more than that: they allow customers to call the restaurant from their car or order ahead online. They serve the food on made-for-car trays that are not unlike airplane tray tables and collect it at the honk of the car horn.

In fact, in-car dining table attachments have become an online shopping sensation for the many out there who are still on the road every day, hustling to make a living

While these restaurants and their customers have embraced this new way of dining, does it really abide by the MCO lockdown rules and will you unexpectedly be slapped with a penalty, which seems to happen so often to unwitting Malaysians.

When this question was brought forward to the Head of Police of the Petaling District in February, he said that it is permissible if individuals want to park outside the restaurant and dine inside the car, as long as the number of people allowed inside a vehicle is not exceeded. However, across the South China Sea, the Police Commissioner of Sarawak said that in-car service is technically breaking the rule of the lockdown, although it is alright if the customer orders takeaway and eats in their own car. (Don’t see much of a difference really…)

So, who is right? The truth is: nobody knows, simply because no official rule has been made on the matter nor does the existing one explicitly forbid it. But lockdown rules here have always been vague and interpreted differently according to the whims and fancies of the authorities. So, dine in-car at your risk and good luck to you all.