Samenta president William Ng expressed concern over the seizure of the hotel’s business licence and its one-day closure despite the authorities finding no breach of the Syariah Criminal Offences (State of Malacca) Enactment 1991.
Ng said the approach of taking enforcement action first based on viral claims on social media and justifying it later was disturbing and could harm businesses.
“With the government’s ambitious target of 47 million visitors for Visit Malaysia 2026, the hospitality and SME sectors are expected to be the primary engines of growth.
“However, this growth is predicated on business certainty and the rule of law. When administrative power is used to penalise businesses based on sentiment rather than established law, it creates an environment of unpredictability that drives away both local and foreign investors and visitors.
“We call upon the local authorities to return the hotel’s business licence immediately and allow the hotel to resume operations while the investigation continues,” he said in a statement.
Yesterday, the Melaka Islamic religious affairs department (Jaim) and the Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council raided the hotel over claims that it was “gay-friendly”, but found no breach of state shariah enactments.
Religious affairs executive councillor Rahmad Mariman said the council seized the hotel’s business licence to facilitate investigations as the owner was not around.
The hotel was also ordered to close for a day while the owner was summoned to explain the “gay-friendly” allegations.
Rahmad said the licence would only be returned if the owner’s explanation was satisfactory.
Ng warned that arbitrary closures undermined Malaysia’s reputation as a stable, business-friendly destination, saying the closure order and licence seizure should only come after investigations are concluded.
He said that this could harm Malaysia’s tourism brand as travellers seek destinations that are safe and uphold the rule of law.
However, he also reminded business owners to be aware of cultural sensitivities and operate with high social awareness to prevent issues that could affect their business.