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(The Sun) PETALING JAYA (April 3, 2008): The Tourism Ministry's callous move in terminating its memorandum of understanding (MoUs) on tourism with opposition-led states may have adverse impact on the economy.
In a press statement, Selangor Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment executive committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said the state had been looking forward to work together with the ministry. "The decision by Tourism Minister Azalina Othman to terminate all tourism MoUs and the state tourism council in Selangor is regrettable," she said. Wong said Selangor accounted for some 30% of the national GDP and the move could jeopardise the national economy as well as the industry. "Selangor is one of the top destinations in the nation and the first stop for most international tourists. It would be foolhardy for the central government to continue sidelining Selangor as well as Penang, Perak, Kelantan and Kedah, which are all premier destinations." Azalina had, yesterday, said all funds for tourism in the five opposition ruled states would be directly channelled into the accounts of the states' Tourism Action Councils which will no longer be chaired by the State Executive Councillors in charge of tourism. The RM1mil annual budget for each state which used to be channelled to the state financial officers when the states were ruled by the Barisan Nasional (BN), will from now on be channelled through federal funds. Despite being cut off by the ministry, Wong said the Selangor state government would persevere in supporting the industry. "This in fact gives us a better opportunity to work even more closely with the private sector. We are committed to improve and to develop the tourism industry in the state in several new initiatives in eco-tourism and heritage tourism," she added. Penang Tourism Development, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Law Heng Kiang described the move by the Tourism Ministry to terminate its MoU on tourism with opposition-led states as "unwise". In urging the ministry to seriously reconsider the decision, he said it would bring about a spiral-effect causing losses to the people and the whole industry in the country, including Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters. "In the short term, it may affect Penang's tourism industry but in the long-term it will defnitely affect the Malaysia's tourism industry," said Law. He said the Penang Tourism Action Council (PTAC) could face operational problems because it is organising and managing touirm events in the state. "We may have to expand the Penang Development Corporation (PDC)'s tourism division to take over the organisation of tourism events here since PTAC may not help us organise events in future," he said. Speaking to reporters after a cheque presentation ceremony in conjunction with International Meatless Day Carnival 2007 in Komtar, Law said the announcement by the ministry may not affect most of the planned tourism events for this year. "The Penang International Dragon Boat Competition in July and World Music Festival in May will still go on as the funding has already been released," he said. The major projects lined up under the Ninth Malaysian Plan (9MP) such as the RM40 million expansion project for Penang Hill, RM7 million expansion project for the Botanic Gardens, RM5 million expansion project for Penang War Museum and a few million for the Batu Ferringhi clean-up project will still go on. "The funding for these are already there so, they probably won't withdraw it now. The only affected events could be the Penang Island Jazz Festival which is slotted for November. It was a highly successful event last year so I hope they will not drop this event this year," he said. However, Law said the state government is not solely dependent on the federal government as it has already drawn up several "good projects". "We are getting tremendously good support from the private sector, so wait for the good news soon," he said, adding he had spoken to the Penang Hoteliers and the Penang branch of the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents on this issue. "They were not overly concerned as they also have confidence in the state government to continue promoting the tourism industry here," he added. On the funding being channelled direct to PTAC instead of through the state, Law said the state may have to get sponsorships from the private sector for state tourism events. "We will still need funding for major projects such as expansion and upgrading of tourism products from the federal government but for tourism events such as the Flora Fest, Chingay, Bon Odori and International Meatless Day Carnival, it has always been funded by the state government with the help of the private sector," he said. He added that 80% of the functions lined-up in the calender of events this year are already being funded by the state and the private sector. One of the good news is that 10 charter flights from Finland will be stopping over at Penang and Kuala Lumpur for the first time, between November and early 2009. "So, we will be having about 2,000 Finnish tourists coming here this year end, which will help the industry," he said.
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