MAH National Board Meeting

MAH NATIONAL BOARD MEETING.

Wisma MAH, Ampang (8 April 2021) – Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) held its National Board Meeting on 5th April 2020 at the New World Petaling Jaya Hotel with various discussions held among the Board Members and Chapter Chairpersons from all over the country. The Board reiterated again to urge the government to consider a higher Wage Subsidy of 50% subsidy for employees with wages up to RM4,000 and 30% subsidy for those up to RM8,000 per month and to be extended till end of the year for tourism and hotel industry.

Echoing voices from hotel members across the country, the Board is again pursuing 50% discount on electricity, to assist hotels to survive considering that Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) alone had earlier declared net profit of RM3.4 billion for year 2020.

The Board also acknowledged the importance of MICE and Business Events, that relies heavily on meetings and events of government ministries, agencies, departments and offices, the industry is looking forward to more support from the Government, and potentially directive for all events to be held in hotels, leveraging on strict compliance on SOPs by hotels.

The Board also discussed recent announcement by the YB Khairy Jamaluddin, the Coordinating Minister for the National Immunisation Program (NIP), on prioritising economic frontliners for the next phase of vaccination, stressing on the need to ensure hotels are included in it, to rebuild travel confidence, and to be ready for impending tourism recovery.

According to Dato N Subramaniam, the President of MAH, the recent collaboration with Tourism Malaysia and Shopee had generated traction on domestic tourism, with over 340 hotels participating offering special hotel deals, where hotels up to 3 Star are entitled to a RM50 subsidy from the Government of Malaysia, while 4 and 5 Star hotels are given RM100 per purchase.

“The industry and Tourism Malaysia understands the concern of locals, if they are even allowed to travel, hence the campaign for locals to buy now and stay later. The special deals can be redeemed up to end the year, providing flexibility to travellers and for them to take advantage of the special subsidy from the Government under the Economic Stimulus Plan,” said Dato N Subramaniam.

The industry is looking forward to reopening of interstate travel, and MAH had also submitted proposals for various safe travel options for green zones, and had offered added control mechanism to be implemented by hotels.

About the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH)

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) is the umbrella body for hotels in Malaysia formed in 1974 and initially established by a group of concerned and dedicated hoteliers to bring about a more dynamic hospitality industry aimed at building a workforce of highly skilled, innovative and disciplined individuals. Its long-term goal was to enhance the efficiency of the hospitality industry, thus, bringing about a more dynamic Malaysian hospitality industry. MAH, as the official national network for the hotel industry, represents more than 900 hotels throughout Malaysia supplying a total of 155,287 rooms which is about 65% of the total number of hotel rooms available as guest accommodation in this country. With 13 chapters across the nation, MAH acts as a voice of the industry, working as one body to promote, protect, represent and advance the interests of its members.

About MAHTEC

MAHTEC Sdn Bhd commenced its fiscal year in 1998 to profile MAH as a human resource development provider and to upgrade the skills and knowledge of staff-in-service in the industry. MAHTEC is the training arm of the Association specializing in developing quality human resources in the hospitality industry. Highly specialized in the areas of Hospitality Skills Training and Managerial Development Training, all programs are facilitated by experienced and qualified Trainers through workshops and practical session.