ABOUT two years ago, I wrote Bravo, Melaka!, which was published in June 2024. I congratulated all those involved in proposing, appointing, and bringing Chinese actress Fan Bingbing to Melaka. She officially began her role as Melaka tourism ambassador on 14 June 2024.
She toured the historic city, and her movements were enthusiastically recorded by the public, with videos swiftly uploaded to social media. Many went viral and created a sensation, especially in China, bringing significant publicity to Malaysia in general and Melaka in particular.
If a Richter scale could be used as a comparison, normal advertisements and promotions would score no more than 1.0. The videos of Fan Bingbing in Melaka would be above 2.0. However, the recent Rain Rave Water Music Festival in Kuala Lumpur could register at least a 9.0!
Social media was flooded with endless videos of the event uploaded by enthusiastic visitors, and the volume could easily surpass all the advertising and promotion a country can generate in a year. It has reached millions of viewers, with many deciding not to miss the next event.
Congratulations to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and its Minister for being unflinching in staging the rave at Jalan Bukit Bintang to celebrate World Labour Day, an international holiday. Congratulations to Tourism Malaysia for teaming up with a brand innovation company.
It turned out to be a roaring success that many are still raving about, especially the tens of thousands who were there to celebrate humanity and bear witness that Malaysia is truly Asia, and not just an empty slogan. It made me feel proud to be Malaysian—Malaysia Boleh!
It would be no surprise if the event were replicated in cities such as Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, or Ho Chi Minh City. In any case, we should continue with this event every year around the May 1 weekend to draw more visitors and enhance Malaysia’s image.
Congratulations too to the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent, led by its committed chief, for deploying 500 police personnel each night and ensuring the three-day event was incident-free, except for a mentally unwell woman wielding a knife who was swiftly subdued by those nearby.
Finally, congratulations to all those in the crowd who proved that Malaysia, and particularly Kuala Lumpur, is a safe place to visit. Although most had fun to the hilt, no one was arrested for unruly behaviour, immoral conduct, testing positive for drugs, or involvement in criminal activity.
The only complaints came from detractors who were jealous of others enjoying themselves or benefiting from tourism.
I live within walking distance of Bukit Bintang but did not join the festivities. However, I am very happy for those who went, and they had a great time in a safe environment.
Melaka had been truly Asia more than 500 years ago when the Portuguese first arrived and found 84 languages spoken there.
The “Malaysia Truly Asia” marketing campaign was launched in 1999. It is now apt to introduce “KL Fun City”, as my city is certainly a fun place to be for visitors.
YS Chan
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia
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