Tiong: Motac always working hard to revive country’s tourism sector

BINTULU (Dec 13): The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) is always working hard to revive the tourism sector in this country, said Dato Sri Tiong King Sing.

The minister explained that under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s tourism sector continues to grow and recover gradually after being severely affected by Covid-19.

“For that purpose, Motac helps in stimulating again the growth of the tourism sector in this country through various initiatives and among them is introducing chartered flights and also accelerating the re-implementation of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Tiong said Motac makes every effort through rational work planning to ensure that the ministry together with agencies under its purview will remain on the right track and maximise their effectiveness.

“In my opinion, the most important thing nowadays is to maintain good relations with travel agencies and airlines around the world in order to open channels that can lead to a surge in tourist arrivals to Malaysia,” he explained.

He said this will definitely help the Unity Government to accelerate the recovery of the country’s economy towards a more competitive future in both domestic and foreign tourism sector.

On a related matter, he said he had been asked by some members of the media why he was not present throughout the closing of the ‘One Year Programme with the Madani Government’ held at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur recently.

He explained that his absence was due to an unavoidable official assignment.

“However, I am very grateful for the presence of Deputy Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan and Motac secretary-general Dato Roslan Tan Sri Abdul Rahman who went to the ground and actively interacted with visitors and agencies under our ministry during the programme,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said in conjunction with the first anniversary of the Unity Government the prime minister and other ministers held careful discussions in every Cabinet meeting on various public issues and national affairs.

Tiong said this includes focusing on key government projects, saving government funds and improving the execution of government policies so that important projects such as the Pan-Borneo Highway are prioritised and benefit the people.

“I know that the prime minister has placed high hopes on Motac. In an effort to increase the number of international tourists visiting Malaysia, Motac not only worked hard to improve the efficiency and hospitality for travellers coming in and out of the country,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to the prime minister and the Ministry of Home Affairs for their efforts to provide support to the relevant countries that have successfully facilitated the visa on arrival (VOA) programme for Chinese and Indian tourists taking direct flights to Malaysia as announced recently.

“This is a good thing and shows the open and progressive policy of the Unity Government under the leadership of Datuk Seri Anwar in line with the concept of Malaysia Madani,” he said.