SHA President Christopher Chan said the service charge has been the motivator and substitution for the inconvenience faced by staff in the hotel industry environment which is challenging to begin with.
"The hospitality industry operates seven days a week and 24 hours a day including on public holidays and staff in the hospitality industry face many challenges.
"Without the financial subsidy through the service charge to maintain the hotel staff, the options are to minimise the staff strength and at the same time redefining the service standards due to reduced staff strength and consequently dilution of the star rating system.
"If the service charge is abolished what is the total loss of tourism receipt to the country? And the loss of direct income to workers in the hospitality industry? How do you quantify justification?"
As such SHA requested that the Ministry of Human Resources and Ministry of Tourism and Culture make their comments on the matter known.
"If this service charge issue requires a review all stake holders should discuss the matter in detail including complications and implications that will arise rather than declaring the matter as final in the press.
"This is nothing personal as the implications affects millions of workers and staff who are caught and cannot express their feelings and rights."
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) said the statement by senior government officials to ban the collection of service charge was uncalled for.
It said in adding salt to wound, allowing companies with employer-employee Collective Agreements and depriving those without is a double standard and unfair to the economic welfare of the employees.
"MAH would like to make clarification and clear the misperception of the public on the recent issue of service charge that has affected the income of the employees of the hotel industry," said its president in a statement.
"Service charge is universally practised and has been practised in Malaysia for over 50 years without qualms. It is very unfortunate that this practice by the hotel industry was implicated by Datuk Ahmad Maslan, the Deputy Finance Minister as confusing the consumer as a tax to the government.
"Since 1975, Service Tax was imposed by the government through the legislation of Sales & Service Tax (SST) Act; since then the standard hotels practice is Price + 10 per cent service charge and + 5 per cent government tax.
"Subsequently, the Government Tax portion was increased to 6 per cent. With effect from April 1 this year, the former SST is now replaced by GST. It is our fervent hope to have a smooth transition for the GST."
MAH said the perception that hotel staff remuneration is being compensated by service charge due to low salary is also untrue.
"Hotels had implemented the minimum wage in accordance to the minimum wage order and guidelines issued by the National Wage Consultative Council. We are in support of building a high income economy nation in tandem with the vision of the government.
"We would like to stress that such ad hoc decision is very damaging to the remuneration of the employee and impractical as hotels have spent millions of ringgit to upgrade their software to accommodate the implementation of GST and now because of some remarks by the Ministries' senior officials, the whole GST implementation is thrown out of proportion.
"This is because most hotels tax invoice would have shown the service charge and GST summary and any changes will take time and additional cost."
A meeting was called by the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism chaired by the Secretary General to collect input from all stakeholders to formulate a solution.
MAH's stand is to ensure that the employees are not short changed and employers are not being burdened with more costs, it said.
MAH requested that the ad hoc decision to stop collecting service charge be withdrawn and formulate a solution in the shortest possible time for the benefit of the employees, consumers and employers before any decision and statement be made by any party.
"Let's work together for a conducive economic and business environment to attract more investments in the hospitality and tourism sector which is one of the largest foreign exchange contribution to the country."
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