KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims who work as frontline hotel staff have the right to wear headscarves.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said there is nothing wrong with wearing headscarves.
Speaking in the Dewan Rakyat today, the Padang Rengas Member of Parliament lambasted the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) for issuing a statement on a headscarves ban for frontline staff, calling the group “irresponsible” and “anti-Islam”.
Some things, said Nazri, are non-negotiable.
“As lawmakers, we must fight in the Dewan Rakyat for the rights of Malaysians,” he said during the 2018 Budget debate at the committee stage for his ministry.
Nazri dismissed MAH’s statement that the practice was consistent among some global hoteliers.
He said MAH should inform the principal companies on local norms and cultures and that the headscarves ban would be against the country’s Constitution.
The minister said that while the principal companies can be excused for not knowing local norms and cultures, MAH “should have known better”.
Nazri, who had previously described the prohibition as “kurang ajar” (rude), said his ministry cannot force MAH to comply. Nevertheless, he said the ministry will continue to advise the group against enforcing the policy.
Earlier this month, the Union Network International-Malaysia Labour Centre (UNI-MLC) said it had received numerous complaints lodged by female hotel employees about the ban on wearing the ‘hijab’ at their workplace.
In defending the move, MAH president Cheah Swee Hee said hotels in Malaysia, especially international hotels, followed a standard operating procedure (SOP) and policy on the matter.
Cheah added that female Muslim employees can instead opt for jobs at the 'back of house' or work with hotels which incorporate headscarves as part of their uniform.
Meanwhile, on an unrelated matter, Nazri said a total of RM600,000 was collected from Tourism Tax within the first month of its introduction in September.
Nazri said that collections would increase once there is more awareness and compliance among operators.
“It is quite slow, we are just starting. People don’t know yet. We are not collecting from some hotels who are not registered yet,” he said.
He said hotels have two months to comply with the new tax.
The tourism tax, introduced this year, was meant to vary according to the star ratings of hotels and inns, before a flat charge of RM10 per room night was imposed on foreign tourists.
The revenue is meant to go towards for the promotion and development of tourism in Malaysia.