MYBHA CELEBRATES IT’S 23RD ANNIVERSARY

The Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA) marked its 23rd Anniversary with a
grand celebration attended by esteemed members and friends of the Association. The event was attended
by the honourable Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture of Malaysia, YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing,
who officiated the ceremony.
A significant highlight of the event was the felicitation of the association’s founder, YBhg Tan Sri Datuk
Seri Panglima Abdul Kadir Bin Sheikh Fadzir, whose presence was deeply valued and greatly
acknowledged by the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA). Additionally, the
event celebrated Mr. Leong Pui Kun, the past president of the association, bestowing upon him the
prestigious Honorary Membership in recognition of his significant contributions towards the association
and the tourism industry.
One of the key moments of the celebration was the momentous launch of the Membership App,
MyBHA Connect, by YB Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, the Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture of
Malaysia. This App aims to revolutionize communication and connectivity among Malaysia
Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA) members, enabling them to network, share
resources, and tap into various benefits conveniently. Among the features of the MyBHA Connect
are the Members Hotel Directory, Digital Membership Certificate, Online Membership Payment,
Event updates, Hoteliers Marketplace and many more.
Furthermore, the event witnessed the signing of (08) eight Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) agreements, aimed at creating strong affiliations and enhancing the benefits to be enjoyed
by the esteemed members of the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA). These
collaborations will further bolster the hospitality industry by bringing new opportunities and
facilitating growth.

The Association leadership seized this occasion as an opportune moment to bring attention to some
unresolved challenges faced by the industry. Representing the collective voice of the Malaysia Budget
& Business Hotel Association (MYBHA) members, we strongly urged the government to take these
issues seriously and work towards resolving the industry threats. By addressing and resolving these
challenges, the Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA) aims to ensure the
sustenance of the hotel industry and enhance the quality of services for tourists.
Among the Industry threats that were identified are:
a. Short-Term Rental Accommodation.

• Short-Term Rental Accommodation (STRA) is a business that does not have laws or
  regulations to regulate the business and the unlicensed business is an illegal business.
• We need a law to regulate the Short-Term Rental Accommodations (STRA) by the
  Federal Government immediately.
• we urge on all State Governments to take the same initiative to regulate Short-Term
  Rental Accommodations (STRA) in their respective States as soon as possible as what
  the Penang state had done.
  b. Online Travel Agencies Platform.
• No law that is regulating the Online Travel Platform and these platforms are running
  their business freely without any regulations.
• We need a law to regulate the Online Travel Agencies (OTA) immediately.
  c. Unfair terms of Business Operation where only registered & licensed hotels are being
  ask to follow rules and regulations.
• No action that has been taken against the unlicensed or unregistered accommodation
  providers while licensed and registered Hotels needs to follow many rules &
  regulations.
  d. Service tax’s threshold that had never been revised.
• We need the Government to increase the Service Tax’s threshold from RM 500,000.00
  to RM 1,500,000.00 for the budget & business Hotel sector.
• We had request this many times but the voice and request was not heard.
  The Malaysia Budget & Business Hotel Association (MYBHA) expresses sincere gratitude to all
  attendees, especially the honourable Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture of Malaysia, YB Dato Sri
  Tiong King Sing for gracing the event with his presence and support where he had announced a special
  fund amounting to Ringgit Malaysia One Hundred Thousand (RM 100,000.00) for the Malaysia Budget
  & Business Hotel Association (MyBHA) and the Association acknowledges the continued commitment
  towards promoting and improving the Malaysian hospitality industry.

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