The Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) welcomed the state government’s decision to standardise the industry’s operating hours to 8am to 6pm from Mondays to Saturdays.

However, its president, Sufri Mhd Zin, said contractors needed to work longer hours to make up for days lost during the various movement control orders.

“Based on our observations, the industry in general experienced a total stoppage of work of at least 199 days. There were also another 380 days of lowered productivity in greater Kuala Lumpur and Selangor,” he said in a statement.

Sufri said that after the construction industry was allowed to resume full operations from Oct 18 under Phase 4 of the national recovery plan, most construction sites had been kept busy to maximise their operating capacity to catch up on lost time.

“This is to ensure projects are completed within the stipulated time in contracts,” he said.

“Therefore, MBAM would like to suggest to the Selangor government to consider extending construction operating hours by two hours to 7am to 7pm from Mondays to Fridays.

“The daily procedures to scan for temperature and check-in with MySejahtera before workers are allowed entry into sites are taking up a substantial amount of time.”

He hoped that other state governments would follow suit to allow the sector to recover.

Yesterday, Selangor local government, public transport and new village development committee chairman Ng Sze Han said construction site hours would be standardised to facilitate work, in line with the reopening of more economic sectors as part of Phase 4.

Any construction work carried out outside the permitted hours must have the approval of the respective local authorities, he said.