APPEAL FOR IMMEDIATE REOPENING OF SPAS & REFLEXOLOGY CENTRES

On behalf of over 300 Spa and Reflexology owners and operators and 33000 employees that we represent across Malaysia, we are now coming together to pledge for the survival of our spa industry.

We have listed below our collective views on the effect of the prolonged closure of Spas and Reflexology centres. Thousands of jobs are on the line and our industry is now on life support:
1. In the last 12 months, spas have been CLOSED for a total of 171 days and have only been allowed to open for 196 days or less.
2. More than 100 spas and reflexology centres (with some big chains ceasing operations of several outlets) have closed down permanently as at 31st Dec 2020.
3. With the MCO being extended and spas and reflexology centres not allowed to resume operations, many more will have to cease operations by the 2nd quarter of 2021, resulting in severe pay cuts and further unemployment.
4. Almost ALL spa and reflexology owners and operators have run out of cash reserves and they don’t even have fair access to borrowed funds/ loans as the spa industry is considered as non syariah- compliant.

We are disheartened from the most recent announcement that while other high touch services such as hair salons, gyms, fitness centres and mass gathering venues such as casinos and shopping malls are allowed to resume operations, yet spas and reflexology centres are not allowed.

We urge the Government to take the following points into consideration:
1. There has been NO spa and reflexology COVID cluster in the last 7 months since reopening on 1ST July 2020.
2. The fact that there are no spa and reflexology COVID cluster points to the fact that our current SOPs are highly effective at preventing COVID transmission. There is absolutely nothing to review/deliberate/tighten further and no time to waste.
3. Both AMSPA and MAWSPA, the national spa and wellness associations were actively involved in ensuring that all 300 spa and wellness operators have been trained on the SOPs under the Safe2Spa campaign.
4. Our industry is highly regulated: operators are rated by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture every two years and they have been practising and complying with SOPs as part of their mandatory operating culture even before the onset of the COVID pandemic.
5. This is a service industry which cannot go online so our operators are experiencing ZERO income. This may encourage a proliferation of mobile home services where regulation of compliance to SOPs is nearly impossible.
6. A predominant majority of the local spa therapists are Bumiputera from East Malaysia. Many are single mothers/breadwinners for their families back home and are not skilled to enter into other occupations. Some spas also employ people with disabilities (OKU) – blind, deaf and dumb therapists, who need a job immediately and find it challenging to learn something new from scratch.

These are the reasons why Spas and Reflexology centres are safe for reopening based on the current SOPs:
1. Spas and Reflexology centres are not crowded venues (unlike a supermarket or a casino). Usage of communal waiting areas are prohibited and strict social distancing guidelines are easily implemented making the risk of infection from other patrons greatly reduced. Most treatments take place in individual treatment rooms.
2. All therapists are wearing PPE: face mask, face shield and disposable gloves for every customer which minimises the risk of infection from therapists. Furthermore, if a therapist is infected, operators can trace exactly all the customers the therapist interacted with.
3. Sanitisation of all treatment areas and equipment used after each customer as well as frequent sanitisation of surfaces in public areas such as the reception, toilet etc minimises the risk of infection from the venue

We sincerely hope that our appeal be taken into consideration, to help secure the long-term viability of an essential and important service and industry. Our aim is to prevent the imminent hardship of spa closures, more job losses and the consequential long term impact. We contribute significantly to physical and mental wellness, a better quality of life, and in the long run, part of our country’s drive for overall economic stability.

Please sign this petition if you believe that Spas and Reflexology centres are safe and should be allowed to reopen immediately with SOPs in place.

This petition is jointly drafted by AMSPA (Association of Malaysian Spas) and MAWSPA (Malaysian Association of Wellness and Spa) and is fully supported by the Industries Unite coalition.