Abang Johari (centre) witnessing the exchange of MoU between Pahon and Liu. Also seen (from right) are Mohamad Morshidi, Fu, Wong and Lee. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The closure of Tourism Malaysia offices overseas and in the country will not affect Sarawak’s tourism sector.
Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said while he regretted the closures, he believed the decision had no impact on the state’s tourist arrivals.
“From the start I cannot rely on Tourism Malaysia to promote Sarawak and boost our tourism sector.
“So if they want to close their offices here, let it be,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state government and four major tourism companies from China.
Abang Johari, who is also Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said the state had its own ways to promote Sarawak to foreign visitors.
Tourism Malaysia offices throughout the country will be closed with immediate effect to avoid job duplication with state agencies in promoting tourist attractions.
Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said the closure of the 14 tourism offices, however, did not involve the termination of services of the staff because they would be absorbed into the ministry’s headquarters and other departments.
He said the move could save about RM6mil in cost annually and it could be utilised for other expenses.
“Although all the Tourism Malaysia offices will be closed, we will create five information offices, namely in Penang for the northern region, Terengganu for the eastern region, Johor for southern region, Sabah at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport, and Sarawak at the Kuching International Airport,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama (Also see Page 18).
On Jan 14, the ministry announced that at least four Tourism Malaysia offices abroad, namely in New York, Perth, Stockholm and Johannesburg would be closed with immediate effect following the termination of Malaysia Airlines Bhd services there.