Call to allow fun outlets to open until 3 am or 5 am
KOTA KINABALU: Entertainment outlets should be allowed to operate until 3 am or 5 am to cater for tourists, said Sabah Labuan Motion Picture Traders and Entertainment Association (Slamptea) president Peter Chow.
He said entertainment outlets complemented the tourism industry and could potentially encourage repeat visits by foreign tourists to Sabah, like how Thailand attracted visitors back to the country owing to its vibrant nightlife.
Chow lauded Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Christina Liew, and Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai for understanding the situation and challenges of entertainment outlet operators in the city.
Liew said the proposal by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to limit opening hours for entertainment outlets until 1 am at the city centre as unsuitable to be imposed in Sabah due to the effect it could have on the tourism industry.
Yeo, when asked for his comments, said that Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) might consider extending the operating hours of entertainment outlets in the city during festive seasons such as Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year and Harvest Festival.
The current operating hours of entertainment outlets in Kota Kinabalu is until 1 am on weekdays and 2 am on weekends. There are over 100 entertainment outlets in the city.
Apart from visiting the islands during the day, Chow said that tourists had nowhere else to go at night and were frequently seen wandering the streets in the city. He said limiting the operating hours to 1 am was unsuitable as tourists only patronise entertainment outlets after 11 pm or midnight.
“Tourists who are taking the midnight flights back to Korea and China could spend some time at entertainment outlets before departing.”
Additionally, he said, locals also preferred to have dinner with their family and take a shower before heading out for entertainment late at night.
Hence, Chow urged the government to consider allowing entertainment outlets to operate until 3 am or 5 am.
He pointed out that entertainment outlet operators were also burdened with increasing costs, including the increment in monthly minimum wage from RM920 to RM1,100 next year.
“Besides, we have to pay numerous fees for trading licence, legal licence, karaoke licence, live entertainment licence (for live band), entertainment licence and music copyright, not to mention shop rental and utility bills. Operating an entertainment outlet business is a high cost, low profit business. A lot of karaoke and entertainment outlets were unable to sustain in this economic slowdown,” he said.
Chow also appealed to the authority to lower the fees for entertainment licence, which is calculated based on RM1 per square foot (psf), to be paid every month.
He said Kota Kinabalu was the only place in Malaysia to impose entertainment fee and he hoped that the rate could be lowered to RM0.50 psf.
He said entertainment outlets recorded a sizeable amount of tax contributions and employed a significant number of workers.
“We hope the government would be more understanding and empathize with the challenges faced by entertainment outlets,” he said.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has proposed to shorten the operating hours of entertainment outlets within the city centre until 1 am.
Federal Territories Minister, Khalid Samad has warned that entertainment outlets would have to abide by the closing hours stated in their licence starting January 1 or face action.
He said DBKL would also review the operating hours of a few outlets that had been given special permission to open until 5 am to cater to tourists but which had abused that privilege by allowing locals in.