PETALING JAYA: The scheduled water cut slated between Oct 13 and 16 will cause a hefty and unnecessary cost to the hotel industry, said the Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (Maho).

       Its executive director Shaharuddin M. Saaid said hoteliers have expressed their displeasure and disapproval of it being undertaken at this period when the hotel business and tourism sectors were just about to restart.

       “Not only will it cause much inconvenience to hotels in serving their guests, but it will also increase the cost of hotel operations,” he said in a statement yesterday.

       He was responding to media reports on the scheduled water cut taking place from Oct 13 to 16.

       Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said the water cut was inevitable and was required to prevent abrupt supply disruptions from occurring in the near future.

       Shahruddin said hoteliers have also questioned why the water cut was not done when hotels were not allowed to operate during the long closure due to the movement control order.

       “A 200- to 300-room hotel in the city reported that it would cost them RM3,500 for a water tank lorry and they would need to rent 10 lorries.

       “This is a hefty cost to hotels especially when they’ve had no business and revenue over a long period of time.

       “Needless to say, it is very inconsiderate and not business friendly of Air Selangor to do this, and the timing is indeed very bad,” he added.

       The maintenance work on Phase 1 of the Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plant was aimed at overcoming the problems afflicting the water supply in the state.

       Amirudin had said that three factors behind water supply disruptions have been identified: insufficient raw water supply, disruption at water treatment plants, and contamination or broken pipes caused by third parties.