Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

Tourist Dollars More Important Than Our Freedom?

December 29, 2007

The results for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 are certainly encouraging. I hope this campaign finally allows me to tell foreigners that I am from Malaysia without having to explain where that is. The following conversation with my former co-workers has been repeated so many times in the past:

American: Hey Kenny, where you from? Hong Kong?
Me: I’m from Malaysia.
American: *dazed look on face*
Me: (Maybe I should Americanize my country’s name a little) I’m from Ma-lay-shar.
American: Where the fuck is that?
Me: You know Thailand or Singapore? We’re south of Thailand, and north of Singapore.
American: Oh, so that’s where you’re from. What was the name again? (Ok, this last part only happened once)

So seriously, if I don’t need to tell people that Malaysia is between Thailand and Singapore again, the VMY 2007 should be considered a success. For all the bashing that I dish out to our Government, I think that VMY is a ‘B’ in a report card full of ‘F’s. Here’s the report in thestar:

PUTRAJAYA: A record 20.7 million foreign tourists visited the country this year, surpassing the target of 20.1 million set for the Visit Malaysia Year (VMY) 2007 campaign.

Now the Government has set new targets – 21 million by next week and 21.5 million by Aug 31 next year as the VMY campaign has been extended to that date in conjunction with Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka.

Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said the country also earned RM45.7bil in foreign exchange.

He said if not for the various street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur and the floods, the target would have been surpassed even earlier with even higher earnings.

Speaking to reporters here on the eighth leg of VMY’s Karnival Gegar project yesterday, Tengku Adnan said the Government would continue to promote the “Malaysia Truly Asia” brand.

He was also glad the Government had decided to continue with the Visa-On-Arrival for foreigners, which he believes helped attract more tourists.

The Government’s tourism campaign, he said, would also continue to attract domestic tourists.

“It has been successful so far as we have surpassed 37 million room nights,” he said, adding that the Government’s move to offer packages with cheap accommodation at major hotels, to tie up with tourism programmes, was a good idea.

So why only a ‘B’ and not an ‘A’? There are still many issues where we can improve.

But the question of the day is, if not for the street demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur, would we have hit the target sooner as implied by Tengku Adnan?

Here’s my answer to that: Yes, we would have hit our target sooner.But I’ll complement my answer with questions. If street demonstrations are not our culture, then why do we Malaysians still visit those countries that have street demonstrations? I’m talking Australia, Europe, U.S.A., or South Korea?

In those countries, the police play an active role in crowd control and preventing a street demonstration to degenerate into a riot. I remember getting caught in an anti-fur demonstration in Chicago, and I never felt afraid because the people were peaceful and there was a handful of police personnel monitoring the situation and controlling traffic. Also, I wasn’t wearing any fur.

In Malaysia, instead of the police controlling the crowd and preventing a street demonstration to degenerate into a riot, the police actively attacks the crowd with tear gas, chemical-laced water cannons, baton charges, and arrests. So instead of preventing a riot, the police are cultivating and encouraging an environment where a riot would erupt.

So that is why Malaysians still visit those countries that have street demonstrations. Because the police protects the people, and doesn’t attack the people. Perhaps there is something the government and police of Malaysia can learn from other countries.

There’s going to be another gathering on January 5th 2008 pending a police permit approval. It’s going to be a candlelight vigil to show solidarity with the ISA detainees and their families. Candlelight vigil, where people go to be peaceful. News here in Malaysiakini. Let’s see how the government and police acts.

So how do you put a dollar figure on the supposes losses that the street demonstration in KL has caused? I have no idea how to, so let’s throw a figure around. Say, RM5 billion worth of earnings.

So the ultimate question: Is RM5 billion worth of lost earnings more important to this country, or is the freedom of assembly of the citizens of this country more important? You be the judge.

You Might Find These Interesting

• Police Violence: If The French Can Do It, Why Can’t We?
• So Are Street Demonstrations Our Culture Now? Answer Us, Badawi!
• Submitting Memorandums to the PM. Will it work?
• Using Tear Gas On Innocent People Is Not Violence
• No Tear Gas And Water Cannon Used At Batu Caves Temple

Thank you for reading Malaysians Say The Darndest Things! If you like what you just read, you should consider subscribing to this blog in a feedreader. Alternatively, you could also subscribe via email, and you will get a daily digest of the day's posts. Your email is strictly protected and will never be used for spam or marketing purposes.