Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has criticised Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing over his allegations regarding tourism on the island of Langkawi.
“The minister mounted a negative campaign against Langkawi...
“This minister should be changed to another ministry,” he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting in Alor Setar.
Sanusi (above) reiterated that checks revealed tourists in Langkawi were not forbidden from wearing shorts or consuming alcohol.
In September, the minister accused officials in the PAS-controlled state of behaving like “little Napoleans” by harassing tourists regarding their attire and alcohol consumption.
When Sanusi invited Tiong to come to the island in “shorts” and to “drink as much as he wants”, the minister doubled down on his allegations.
Meanwhile, Sanusi also claimed the media was concocting stories of businesses “gulung tikar” or shutting down on the island.
Sinar Harian reported Langkawi Tourism Association (LTA) chief executive Zainuddin Kadir as warning that the island, which was a main attraction for local and foreign visitors, could turn into a “ghost town”.
There is concern that the hotel industry, car rental companies, and food outlets are in dire straits because of the lack of tourists.
For the upcoming Deepavali break, Zainuddin said reservations for three-star hotels stood at only 10 percent.
“Based on observation and feedback, more food operators will close shop, those offering car rental services will auction their vehicles because of bank loans,” he added.
Cost of living blamed
Meanwhile, Sanusi said the Tourism Ministry and federal agencies should play their roles instead of leaving it to the state government.
According to him, the high cost of living is also forcing Malaysians to be more calculative about their travelling expenditure.
Furthermore, he said, apart from Singapore, direct flights from abroad have not commenced and this is the same for cruise ships.
“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, some 60 percent of the tourists were foreigners and locals made up about 40 percent,” he was quoted as saying by Harakah.
Sanusi also reportedly called on all quarters to stop peddling the narrative that Langkawi is too expensive because this is affecting tourism.
Meanwhile, Kuah assemblyperson Amar Pared Mahamud also dismissed the claim that locals are no longer favouring Langkawi.
“Please don’t get overly excited in sabotaging tourism players here as most of them are still recovering from the economic devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We need to understand the basic facts that visitor arrival to this island is based on four seasons – the rainy season; dry season; low season, and peak season.
“It is common that visitors are lesser during the rainy season and the dry spell, but the numbers will bounce back during festive holidays and school breaks,” Amar told the New Straits Times. - Mkini
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