Chong Wei vows to do smashing job as Sabah tourism ambassador

 

Lee Chong Wei says people had even questioned him on his social media why he agreed to take up the position.

KOTA KINABALU: Former badminton world No 1 Lee Chong Wei says he is not taking his new role as the Sabah tourism ambassador lightly, vowing that he will do his best to help the industry recover from the pandemic.

Lee said he agreed to take on the role as he saw it as a new challenge, adding it is completely different from his past ambassadorial duties to promote certain companies or products.

While going on holidays in Sabah will be part of his job scope, the triple Olympic silver medalist is fully aware of the hard work he needs to put in to market the state to the world more effectively.

He said he had only been to Sabah four times previously, mostly for sporting reasons, but now that he is retired, he is keen to explore more about the state.

“This is a responsibility and not as easy as some people might say,” he said, during an online chat show called “Sabah Way Forward: Introducing Sabah Tourism Ambassador” last night.

“This is because I must work hard to learn about tourism and the places in Sabah as well as do my own research instead of just saying ‘yes’ (to the role) and doing nothing.

“As the tourism ambassador, I want to know more places in Sabah and I want to visit them, otherwise people will say ‘this ambassador is fake, he hasn’t gone anywhere in Sabah’ – that’s very important.”

The Sabah Tourism Board’s (STB) decision to appoint Penangite Lee last month drew criticism from many social media users, who argued that the state’s tourism ambassador should be a Sabahan.

Lee said he understood the mixed reactions over his appointment, adding people had even questioned him on his social media why he agreed to take up the position.

But the Penangite said: “I know I’m not a local Sabahan but I hope the people will not be angry with me.

“I hope everyone understands that I am a Malaysian and Sabah is also part of Malaysia, we are all Malaysians. So, I’m very happy and proud to have the opportunity to become the ambassador.

“My plan is to do the best for the state and I hope I can help tourism recover in Sabah, especially after Covid-19,” he said.

STB chief executive officer Noredah Othman had previously defended the decision to appoint Lee to the role, saying the board had always appreciated local talent.

Noredah said the STB had before this engaged Sabahans, such as professional golfer Ben Leong as its golfing ambassador and artiste Gary Chaw as its tourism ambassador.

Speaking at the show last night, Noredah said the STB appreciated the feedback from the people, whether bad or good.

“But we got everyone interested (and) we’re happy people have taken note. Sabahans are always passionate about the state.

“We hope our collaboration with Lee will only bring about a positive result to us in Sabah, to our tourism industry and to Malaysia in general.

“He is a hero to Malaysia and why shouldn’t we work with him? He’s not riding on our popularity but we are riding on his and we are so blessed he said yes to us,” she said. - FMT