PETALING JAYA, March 30 -- A Malaysian Facebook user recently shared a sobering tale about the hardships faced by hawkers during the Covid-19 movement control order (MCO).

Filmmaker Gary Chong stopped by his local coffee shop to get some takeaway lunch during a grocery run and ended up "re-evaluating (his) role as a citizen in (his) community" after chatting with a chicken rice seller.

The hawker revealed how his earnings have dipped sharply ever since the MCO was implemented on March 18.

"While going about his usual way of preparation, he started lamenting that his daily sales now are only around RM140 but he has to open shop from 7am to 11pm.

"To put it in a nutshell, he has to work 16 hours to just sell chicken rice and survive bet...