THE country's hotel and tourism players are feeling betrayed following the implementation of the RM1,500 minimum wage, which kicked in at the beginning of this month.
They are puzzled as to why the industry, which was still in the red following the Covid-19 pandemic, had not been temporarily exempted from the ruling despite earlier pledges from the government to do so.
Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Datuk Tan Kok Liang did not mince his words in describing the policy as unjust.
Tan said the timing was less than ideal as many businesses had yet to financially recover from the mammoth losses incurred since early 2020.
Tan expressed dismay at the government's move to push the new minimum wage through, saying that Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan had, in the middle of last month, stated that the tourism industry was among the sectors that would be temporarily exempted from the policy.
He said while businesses were thankful for the RM600 wage subsidy introduced previously, many simply did not have the financial capacity to cope with the new minimum wage.
"We cannot sustain financially. The small- and medium-scale enterprises in the tourism business appear to be struggling and this will drag on until June. Maybe there will be improvements towards the second half of the year.
"There's a chance it will only truly recover in 2023. Do we have the capacity to afford the big jump in wages? This is all too sudden for us and we have yet to recover.
"It is like pouring a huge pail of water on us. To me, it is a bit unreasonable," he told the New Straits Times.
Tan suggested that the government step in to assist the industry by returning to the earlier decision to have them temporarily exempted from the policy.
"Why not extend it until January 1, 2023, and then we can begin paying the RM1,500 minimum wage? That is one way the government can help us. The other option is to continue the wage subsidy policy for us.
"I believe it (temporary exemption) should last until the end of the year. Domestic tourism is a crucial determinant in sustaining the country's tourism businesses," he added.
Viewing the issue of minimum wage as serious, Tan said Matta would get all tourism-related bodies to collectively write in to the government to voice their plea soon.
Echoing Tan's view was Malaysian Association of Hotels president Datuk N. Subramaniam, who said they, too, were hard hit by the decision not to exclude them from the policy for the time being.
The policy, he claimed, would further impact the industry players' financial structure and cash flow as government subsidies, which had helped tide them through tough times, had more or less stopped.
"The policy comes into effect in a very rapid manner and we are unable to cope with it. We were relieved at first when the government said we would be briefly exempted but suddenly, we are not. It is a slap to our faces.
"The hotel industry is one of the worst-hit. We hope the government can aid us with wage subsidies as hiring workers now involves higher pay. On top of that, there is a also a shortage of foreign workers.
"We hope the government will give special consideration to us by delaying it. We need some breathing room," he said.
The hotel industry, he said, was booming during the Hari Raya festivities when the balik kampung exodus brought occupancies up to 80 per cent.
However, Subramaniam said the reality was that there had yet to be a massive entry of foreign travellers due to differing Covid-19 testing rules from country to country, as well as partial resumption of international flights.
He said the association members were adopting a "wait-and-see" approach for now in terms of hiring workers, which would cost them more, and the uncertainty of hotel room take-up.
"We cannot tell yet what the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic will be on us post-Hari Raya and the months ahead," he added.