PUTRAJAYA — Politicking and racialising issues will deter tourists and hamper efforts to boost economic growth, tourism minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said
He said the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) is working to draw tourists from all countries, but noted that there was more politicking and racialised statements especially when Chinese tourists are involved.
He said certain parties had accused the government of prioritising Chinese tourists when in fact, Saudi Arabia itself was trying to attract the same group of travellers.
“I urge everyone to work together. Malaysia is not alone in seeking Chinese tourists. Saudi Arabia is also actively promoting itself in China because they recognise that it’s one of the largest markets with significant spending power,” Bernama quoted Tiong saying at a press conference.
“What is important for us is to develop the economy. If we allow everything to be tied to politics and racism, we will fail to achieve the goals of Visit Malaysia Year 2026 and ASEAN 2025,” he added
According to Tiong, Malaysia recorded 34.2 million arrivals, comprising 22.5 million tourists and 11.7 million visitors, between January and November this year – a performance that has exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
On Chinese tourists alone, Tourism Malaysia statistics show that from January to August this year, over 2 million of them came here, marking a 160% growth compared to the same period last year.
In October, Maybank Investment Bank estimated that Chinese tourism spending in Malaysia could surge to over RM30 billion next year.
Tiong added that Chinese tourists have a significant impact by boosting traders’ business including small enterprises in rural areas.
Malaysia also needs to provide a welcoming environment to tourists if it is to compete with Thailand, he added.
Tiong also said there is nothing wrong with promoting bilingualism in business signage.
He urged enforcement officers checking business premises for bi-lingual signs not to use methods that “create negative impressions” among locals and tourists.
Rather, they should engage with business owners instead of abruptly removing signs they deem inappropriate, Tiong added.
In Kuala Lumpur, under by-laws on advertisement signage, business signboards are required to be in the national language, and while use of other languages is allowed, the words in Bahasa Malaysia must take precedence and be larger than words in other languages.
The issue stirred debate in October when Kuala Lumpur City Hall said it had numerous issued notices over the matter to shop owners for being “excessive”. Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad then took to his social media to question why business signs in Chinese were allowed for certain stores at a shopping mall. The stores he posted photos of were mostly those selling products or food aimed at Chinese customers.
Another issue that has stirred politicking was the presence of China’s national flag at a cultural festival in Teluk Intan, Perak, in October. Tiong explained at the time that Malaysians were not the ones waving the flag at the International Guan Gong Culture Festival which had involved several China nationals who participated in the event. – December 13, 2024
