When it is permissible to sell a country

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IN a political setting it would be unpatriotic to talk about selling Malaysia but that’s what the delegates to tourism conferences and workshops do. They put up their country for sale. They give lectures on the diversity of its cultures; they distribute leaflets about the beauty of its beaches, rivers and mountains. They show pictures of the shopping malls in its cities to prove that they too have the latest branded products to cater for the well-to-do members of its populace.

So come one, come all. There is such a thing as paradise on earth: “It’s here!” they claim.

During the Pata 1973 conference held in KL, the state government’s representatives together with the local tour operators promoted Sarawak as ‘The Land of the Hornbills’, Sabahans touted their state as ‘The Land Below The Wind’, and Penangites were briskly selling their ‘Pearl Of The Orient’. Delegates from Melaka wooed the delegates to their A Famosa, a must-see colonial relic.

I don’t know how many tourists went to West Malaysia and Sabah, but not long after the conference, foreign tourists descended upon Sarawak. Segu (Benuk) longhouse was the favourite for the Americans and the Skrang safari for the Europeans. More and more facilities were built – Cultural Village, resort hotels, orang-utan sanctuary – to cope with the potential influx of foreign visitors. Music festivals were organised regularly. And Sarawak has been on the tourist map ever since.

From time to time, Russians come on cruise ships. Singaporeans fly across the sea for bird’s nests. They like to bargain – our kopi o is too expensive for them! The Japanese must be happy to see a lot of vehicles with familiar names on our roads. I think they did win the Pacific War, and it was done without using guns! From China, tourists come to enjoy foods of various kinds. Though hordes of Arabs have reached KL by now, they have so far skipped Kuching.

The tourist dollar

It’s their money that we are after. I read somewhere that in 2011 alone, tourists spent RM57 billion in Malaysia. That’s about RM5 billion a month – a good income from an invisible ‘export’!

How much of this amount was spent in Sarawak? I notice that the tourists buy souvenirs of the size that can fit into their luggage; some stay in 3- or 4-star hotels, the backpackers prefer budget outlets while others are off to the longhouses and the homestays. They eat in our restaurants, they hop into our taxis, seldom use our buses, they walk. And yet because of their sheer numbers, the total expenditure incurred on an annual basis must amount to a big sum. But we don’t really know how much the state gets, do we?

How much do the longhouse folk or the homestays get? Can someone enlighten us on this? One thing I know: a European tourist pays for his airfare and overseas hotel accommodation at Frankfurt or Berlin before his departure for the ‘Land Where the Pepper Grows’. This is how the Swiss tourists refer to Sarawak.

HISTORICAL: The view from Brooke’s cottage The Peninjau.

Foreign tourists, especially those travelling in organised groups, spend comparatively little money on local sightseeing, entertainment and fruits. A major portion of the funds for the whole trip over here has been paid for well in advance in their own countries.

However, we must get a bite, albeit a tiny bite, of the big pie. We must attract the tourists to our shores through the brochures that we dish out during the campaigns overseas, sometimes with ministers leading the sales missions; they are flooded with more literature upon their arrival.

The visitors would believe what the tour guides tell them or what they read from the brochures. Hence the importance of accurate information.

For instance, we must avoid a statement such as “The Siniawan old town was set up by the Chinese from here in 1821 after they fled from Rajah Brooke’s raid.”

Unlikely, to put it mildly! James Brooke never got to Sarawak until nearly 20 years later, on Aug 15, 1839 to be exact. If this information should find its way to our brochures, anybody with a smattering of history will know it’s wrong; he won’t believe anything else that’s in the pamphlet, either. The fact of this particular snippet of history is that the Chinese gold-miners who had settled at Siniawan were originally from Sambas, Mandor or Montrado, in what is today Indonesian West Kalimantan. Their movements at that time were motivated by the gold rush, and conflicts between rival groups of miners.

The whole gold saga would actually make a good tourism product, no need to garble historical dates!

Let’s sell Siniawan

That proposal to list Siniawan as a heritage town is good news. Spenser St John wrote about the bazaar in his book ‘Life In The Forests Of The Far East –Volume 1’, Smith. Elder and Co, London, 1862. He may not have been the most genial commentator, but he was a good observer and his book is still of interest. His name, by the way, is pronounced ‘Sinjin’.

According to Sinjin, “There are about 300 Celestials settled here, principally engaged in shopkeeping, though a few cultivate gardens. They are evidently thriving, as the Dayaks of the surrounding country resort to this place, and there is a constant influx of Chinese and Malay gold workers … Their women, half-breeds, are better-looking than any others in this part of the world.’’ Wow!

First foreign tourist?

One of the first female tourists to visit Sarawak was a Madame Pfeiffer. St John says, “Madame Pfeiffer, the traveller, suddenly made her appearance among us in December, 1851; she was a woman of middle height, active for her age, with an open countenance and a very pleasant smile. She lived with us for some days, and then we took her to visit the Dayaks of Serambau.” Their destination was the Rajah’s cottage called ‘Peninjau’ half way up the Serambu Mountain.

They went on a fast boat en route to the “Chinese village of Siniawan, where we took up our quarters for the night”. Madame Pfeiffer amused the local children there when she went chasing a butterfly.

You have to give Sinjin credit for his version of both Siniawan and Madame Pfeiffer. Out travel operators must of necessity be as accurate as possible when describing their products.

Travel agents are supposed to possess at their finger tips all about the geography of each of the countries their customers want to visit. Unfortunately, occasionally, there are scatterbrains among them.

By train from Penang to Kuching!

For example, sometime ago, a friend walked into a tourist agency in London. He wanted to get back to Kuching fast. He was told that there was no direct flight to Kuching but a seat was available to Penang via Kuala Lumpur. From Penang, he was advised to take the train to Kuching!

Living on trees

When I was in Juarez in Mexico in 1971, I was asked by the tour bus driver whether the people in Borneo were still living on trees. Without hesitation, I replied in the affirmative.

“Yes, but the problem is the furniture. We had no end of trouble getting the grand piano up there.”

And do the children go to school?

“Yes,” I said. Some attend schools run by the Freemasons. Others study in Church schools and learnt about how Columbus discovered America in 1492.

I told him a half truth and meant it as a joke which he didn’t get; he probably half believed me!

The clear water of the Rajang

Our whole promotion campaign is ruined if exaggerated claims are made. Some tourism literature extols the “crystal-clear waters of the mighty Rajang River”. Kopi susu would be a more accurate description!

When that mighty river was choked with rotten logs sometime ago, it was not the fault of the gods. It was caused by erosion of the river banks and incessant heavy downpours, and the rotting timber had been cut. There’s no point telling tourists: “Oh no, there is no logging here!” if they can see barge after barge loaded with timber chugging downstream.

Are we made of antimony?

There are some quite ridiculous stories of how the name of Sarawak came about. I have heard a tourist guide telling his wards that ‘Sarawak’ came from the word Serah, adding: “Saya serah kepada awak” (I hand it over to you). Purported to have been said by Rajah Muda Hassim to James Brooke when surrendering Kuching District as a reward for James’ help in ending the Seniawan war – it’s speculation at best. More research is required to determine the truth.

However, for another source, look up RO Winstedt’s Malay-English Dictionary and you will find that the word Serawak is antimony (Batu Serawak). Centuries ago, this corner of West Borneo was known as a source of this mineral. This may be the origin of the name of Sarawak (Kuching then), but there may be another. Find out.

It’s important that the product – a country or washing powder – be properly labelled and the contents clearly displayed. If it’s not, who wants to buy the stuff?