The chairman of the Penang branch of the Malaysian Association of Hotels, Raj Kumar, said the two-week MCO 3.0 would severely affect 6,000 employees in the state’s hotel industry.

“Many hotel owners are running low on cash and finding it difficult to pay their staff. I would not be surprised if more hotels in Penang shut down, whether temporarily or permanently, in the next two weeks,” he told Bernama.

He hoped that the federal government would carefully and strictly undertake the necessary measures, not only to ensure public health safety and security against Covid-19, but also the survivability of hoteliers during the MCO period.

Meanwhile, operators of tourism attractions in Penang have also been put in a tough spot since the ban on interstate travels remains.

Association of Tourism Attractions Penang (ATAP) chairman Ch’ng Huck Theng is concerned that some of the members might not be able to survive until year-end if the MCO continues.

He said the various versions of MCO saw some of its members running smaller attractions having to shut down and noted that even the bigger ones were struggling to stay in business right now.

Ch’ng said pre-Covid-19, ATAP members employed more than 10,000 people and had a cumulative net revenue of RM1 billion annually.

“While I understand that the MCO is necessary, we hope that the federal government would ensure that this would be the last.

“This is the time for us to truly learn from our mistakes and unite to bring back hope to us all,” he added.

Yesterday, senior minister for security Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced that three districts and three sub-districts in Penang will be placed under the MCO from May 10 to 23.

These involve Timur Laut, Seberang Perai Tengah and Seberang Perai Selatan districts; Mukim 12, Barat Daya; Butterworth; as well as Mukim 14, Seberang Perai Utara.