Leather goods at Malaysian mall covered in mould after two months of lockdown

After almost two months of Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia, businesses and shops had been allowed to re-open since last week. Mall employees had begun to return to their duties, and one netizen had shared how a shopping mall was manifested with fungus.
Nex Nezeum, a Malaysian Facebook user, uploaded a series of photos onto his account on 10 May, showing how mould had grown on various leather items that were on display in a Sabah shopping mall.

Seeing how much damage was caused due to the shop closure for almost two months, Mr Nex expressed that it was “pointless” to re-open the business as the goods that were meant to be sold were damaged.
His caption read: “Can open shop also no point…goods all damaged after being left in shop for 2 mths…“
In the photos he uploaded, the affected goods included branded shoes, belts, bags, wallets, as well as the fabric stool installed in the shop.

Netizens were taken aback by the harrowing scene and commented that the humidity level in the mall was high, as contributed by the lack of air-conditioning throughout the lockdown.
Here are the photos that were uploaded by Mr Nex:

Netizens have left mixed comments in regards to the moulding of the leather product. Some wrote that Malaysia’s humid weather had catapulted the moulding process to happen.
Yuen-Chi Lian questioned why would the store employees leave these items out in the open knowing that no one would be able to tend to them during the closure period.

Bawang Holland Rangup wondered if mould would still grow should the items be kept in their respective boxes or bags. He also heard that the branded or genuine leather items have a tendency to mould if not kept properly.

Aury Eranza Abdul Aziz commented that people who handle these items would need to wash their hands frequently as the source of the mould originated from their hands.

Other than the branded items that were severely moulded and damaged, another similar incident occurred in a Malaysian cinema. The seats and carpet in the cinema could be seen covered in mould.
So far, there’s no news regarding the location of this particular cinema. However, many were startled at how filthy and contaminated cinemas could be.
Knowing that many people love watching movies at the cinema on a regular basis, it seemed like this incident had shifted the way they look at public enclosed spaces that normally attract huge crowds.