Malaysia’s hospitality industry is expected to face staffing shortages for at least another two years, as locals seek jobs in Singapore where they can earn more than RM10,000 a month.
John Teo, chairman of the Malaysia Association of Hotels (Sarawak chapter) said the republic is paying S$3,000 for servers. Malaysia’s minimum wage is only RM1,500.
As of today, one Singapore dollar is equivalent to RM3.17. On May 25, the Singapore dollar was at an all-time high of RM3.20.
“I do not blame the workers for seeking their fortunes in Singapore. They can earn more than RM10,000 a month, with overtime,” said Teo.
“Hotels lost the bulk of their staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. We are still recovering. It takes time to train new ones, too.”
Teo said now that borders are opened, hotels are finding it hard to get former employees back. Some have moved on to other careers. The biggest headache is competing with Singapore’s strong dollar.
“We feel it might take another two years before the ringgit bounces back. In the meantime, we must bring in new blood into the industry.”
Asked how Sarawak’s hotel occupancy rate has been since Malaysia opened its borders on April 1, Teo said the dynamics in Sarawak are different from West Malaysia’s.
“Most of our foreign tourists come from Brunei and China. However, both countries are still battling with Covid-19,” said Teo.
“Brunei announced it would open its borders on Aug 1. But it had 522 new infections on Tuesday. So, we will wait and see if they will open their borders as scheduled.
“China is slowly relaxing their travel rules. We are hopeful of welcoming more tourists from that region soon.”
The hotel and tourism industry has been described as “vulnerable”, following the massive layoffs and closures over the past two years.
But it is not all doom and gloom.
Teo said most hotels in Kuching and Miri are booked this weekend, and the next.
Kuching hosts the Rainforest World Music Festival from tomorrow until Sunday, while the Borneo Jazz Festival is in Miri, from June 25-27.
“The festivals have brought many domestic tourists back to Sarawak.
“After two years of the pandemic, people are ready to party and have fun. Sarawak is the place to be, for the next two weekends.”
