KUALA LUMPUR: The operations of four of the six Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) hotels which have been transferred to the Finance Ministry’s special purpose vehicle Urusharta Jamaah Sdn Bhd (UJ) will continue under the new management without any downsizing, TH and UJ said in a joint statement today.
The entire management and staff of the four hotels, previously managed by the TH Hotel and Residence Sdn Bhd (THHR), will be taken over by UJ Property Management Sdn Bhd (UJPM), UJ’s wholly-owned subsidiary, on April 1.
The four hotels – TH Hotel Kota Kinabalu, TH Hotel Bayan Lepas, TH Hotel and Convention Centre Alor Setar and TH Hotel and Convention Centre Kuala Terengganu – will remain as syariah-compliant hotels and will be renamed as Raia Hotel from April.
“Of the staff, 90% will continue to work in the Raia Hotel chain while 10% will be absorbed by TH Hotel Kelana Jaya.
“Additionally, 90% of the staff will also receive contribution-based compensations for their services in THHR,” the statement added.
The statement made no mention of the fate of the other two hotels, TH Hotel Kelana Jaya and TH Hotel & Convention Centre Kuching.
TH had issued the notice on the termination of operation of the four hotels yesterday.
Meanwhile, to complete the transfer of ownership, UJ had issued sukuk worth RM19.6 bil and paid RM300 mil in cash.
It had also set aside funds to upgrade the hotel facilities.
According to the statement, the transfer of the hotels is part of TH’s asset transfer exercise, consisting of 29 real estate properties, one unlisted company and equity holdings worth RM9.63 bil on the date of the transfer.
It described the hotel chain takeover as part of TH’s restructuring and recovery plan, and is a necessary move by UJ to fulfil the government’s mandate to reduce government commitments.
“UJ plays an important role to ensure that the objective is realised and will continue its efforts to increase the value of assets under its portfolio,” it added.
UJPM will be headed by Hotel Seri Malaysia’s former managing director and CEO Muhammad Solleh Ramli. – Feb 18, 2020, Bernama
