State govt can downgrade hotel ratings if service not up to par, Melaka assembly told

MELAKA: The Melaka government has the authority to review and downgrade the star ratings of hotels here if services provided failed to meet the expected standards, the state assembly was told on Tuesday (Aug 1).

State tourism, heritage, art and culture committee chairman Datuk Abdul Razak Abdul Rahman said the state government was empowered to downgrade the ratings accorded to hotels through recommendations made by its Hotel Review Committee if those in the hospitality industry failed to maintain the quality and cleanliness of accommodation offered to visitors.

“The committee apart from Tourism, Arts, and Culture Ministry can recommend to downgrade the ratings of hotels if their services do not match with the status given to them,” he said in his reply to a supplementary question by Datuk Lim Ban Hong (BN-Klebang) on Tuesday (Aug 1).

Abdul Razak (BN-Telok Mas) also told the assembly that the ratings would be awarded, among others, based on service rendered, room size, housekeeping capacity and the range of facilities offered.

“The ratings are renewed three years once and it could be downgraded if the services were found to be unsatisfactory by the state Tourism ministry or the committee,” he said.

Abdul Razak also told the assembly that there were 23,448 hotel rooms available to host tourists during the Visit Melaka Year 2024 (TMM 2024).

He said there were 510 hotels, including starred hotels and nine clusters of homestays registered with the Tourism Ministry in the state that are able to cater for those heading to the city during the TMM 2024.

The assembly was also told that a database will be readied by the state government to identify drainage and irrigation systems in the state.

State works, infrastructure, Public Amenities and Transport Committee chairman Datuk Hameed Mytheen Kunju Basheer said the database would help the relevant authorities to identify inadequate functioning of drainage infrastructure, expansion of waterways and system maintenance.

He said the database would also help coordinate the maintenance of the drainage and irrigation systems by the Public Works Department, local councils and district offices.

The assembly also witnessed a motion to set up a Consolidated Trust Fund in accordance with the Financial Procedure Act 1957 being approved.

Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Jusoh said the objective of establishing the trust fund was to enable government agencies, subsidiaries, local governments, associations, non-government, corporate companies, entities, individuals within and outside the country to receive financial allocations from the government and its related stakeholders.