LANGKAWI: Hoteliers should prioritise recruiting Malaysians instead of resorting to a quick-fix solution by opting for a foreign workforce to address staff shortages in the hospitality industry.
Ayda Hotel Langkawi general manager Razmi Rahmat said many Malaysians were still struggling to secure employment and thus should be given priority to fill up vacancies in the industry.
"Local universities produce thousands of graduates in hotel management and hospitality-related programmes annually, not to mention graduates from private colleges and university-colleges.
"We should be looking at this pool of young talents first before resorting to a quick-fix solution by bringing in foreigners to address manpower shortage in the industry.
"We must not sacrifice the Malaysian hospitality identity," Razmi told the New Straits Times.
He was responding to a proposal by Malaysia Budget Hotel and Business Association (MyBHA) deputy president Dr Sri Ganesh Michiel to seek government approval to allow foreigners to work in the hospitality industry to address workforce shortages in the industry.
Ganesh was quoted on Saturday as saying that the hospitality industry was pushing for special measures to address staff shortages in anticipation of Malaysia receiving foreign tourists when its borders reopen.
He said the move was necessary as about half of the overall hotel staff were let go while many others had left the industry following the prolonged closure of the tourism sector due to Movement Control Order (MCO) since last year.
Razmi, who is also vice-chairman of the Kedah/Perlis chapter of the Malaysian Hoteliers Association, said the employment of foreigners in the hospitality sector should ideally only be limited to higher management level, not for the rank-and-file positions.
Citing the example of Langkawi, he said the situation was still manageable as many hoteliers have recalled their former staff and offered reasonable perks and benefits to new workers.
He stressed that hoteliers should also make good use of the government's employment incentives to retain existing staff and hire Malaysians with the help of relevant agencies.
"The bottom line is, hotel management should be mindful and use common sense in managing the situation. They shouldn't open all the rooms available at their respective hotels knowing they are understaffed.
"Don't be greedy because of the current high demand for rooms following the reopening of state borders," he said.
Malaysia's borders are expected to reopen to foreign visitors by Jan 1 as part of the government's efforts to expedite recovery of the country's tourism sector.
National Recovery Council chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Thursday had said the move was made after taking into consideration the vaccination rate in the country, which had surpassed 95 per cent for adults and 76.7 per cent for adolescents.