I HAVE little recollection of the first Visit Malaysia Year in 1990 (I was eight), but I remember more about Visit Malaysia Year 1994. The branding was omnipresent, and since I had roamed beyond Malaysia and Singapore just twice in my life then, it occurred to me that as much as I dreamt of visiting more faraway places, there must be people who dreamt of coming to Malaysia as well.
With this in mind, I began to appreciate familiar places in a new (mostly historical) light. I also went to Taman Negara for the first time, becoming immersed in the tropical rainforest I had hitherto only heard and read about. I quickly became an ardent and unapologetic promoter of tourism in Malaysia, and when I started school in the UK, I made my friends come and visit.
The year 1994 was before the Asian Financial Crisis: we were enjoying annual GDP growth rates of nearly 10 per cent, we had the mirage of a successful national car and the imminent promise of new twin peaks to match Mount Kinabalu. Events that year included the launch of Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (Ikim) “dedicated to promoting a peaceful, progressive and profound understanding of Islam”, a federal rejection of hudud laws approved by the PAS government in Kelantan, the death of Tan Sri Mubin Sheppard, the installation of Tuanku Ja’afar as Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the banning of Al Arqam. (With thanks to Chronicle of Malaysia 1963-2013.)
The context of Visit Malaysia Year 2014 is quite different. After the Global Financial Crisis, our annual GDP growth is still growing at over 5 per cent, but many more people now deem the cost of protecting the national car industry to be too high, and megaprojects are met with disdain.
The year began with protests in Kuala Lumpur about the rising cost of living and tension over religious issues has featured in our headlines (and headlines about us abroad) for months.
Perhaps this is all the more reason for all Malaysians to rally behind this fourth Visit Malaysia Year (the third was in 2007 coinciding with 50 years of Merdeka). Fortunately, we have a tourism minister who knows that a successful national tourism policy transcends political affiliation, and the pictures of him with the Penang Chief Minister in parliament last year to announce the revival of the bi-partisan tourism committees in every state remain in stark contrast to others who use (or invent) every opportunity to denounce the opposition. (Also at the national level Christmas Open House in Penang two weeks ago, protocol meant that Lim Guan Eng sat between Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and Datuk Seri Najib Razak).
Indeed it is primarily policy decisions outside the purview of the Ministry of Tourism which form the biggest threat to the dollars, euros, yuan, yen, dirhams, dinars, pounds that are so important to our economy.
Still, there are some cosmetic elements of the campaign that will irritate some Malaysians. For example, the theme song (using a now familiar arrangement of traditional instruments punctuating catchy pop music) repeats the phrase “celebrating 1Malaysia”. While the tourist might associate this with jolly scenes of families of different ethnicities, golf tee-offs, schools of fish and racing yachts, for many Malaysians the phrase will only be ironic.
The music video is one of dozens available on the ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ YouTube channel (youtube.com/tminternet), where the current default video includes a message from the Prime Minister. If you click on ‘videos’ and arrange by popularity you will see that amongst the most viewed items are two full-length documentaries produced in conjunction with the installation of the 13th Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan in 2009 and the 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia in 2012, both originally aired on the Discovery Channel.
In Malaysia’s Royal Rites: Negeri Sembilan, I am interviewed alongside my elder brother the Tunku Besar Seri Menanti, and in Malaysia’s Majesty: Twice a King, I am interspersed with my aunt the Tunku Panglima Besar Kedah. Strangely, while none of the official television commercials (not even the five minute version) feature a single picture of our king, potential tourists seem to be as intrigued by our institution of monarchy as they are by our gifts of nature, shopping and food.
Alas, hundreds of tourists had an imperfect arrival at KLIA’s satellite terminal last week, as only one train to the main terminal was functioning. Naturally there was a massive crush to embark, and after the announcer berated passengers for blocking the doors, it was clear that at least one family had been separated. Details like this need to be attended to. Being alone in an airport building, even for a few minutes, is something an eight-year-old will remember.
Tunku Abidin Muhriz is founding president of Ideas.