Tenacious Tiong takes on thorny issues

Tenacious Tiong takes on thorny issues

Andrew Sia
Published: Mar 1, 2024 7:35 AM


COMMENT | Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong is a tough guy. Some hate him. Others cheer for him.

You can say what you like about him, but he is willing to tackle thorny issues head-on.

These include:

• Demoted a Malay director-general (DG) for poor performance.

• Exposed the alleged extortion of tourists at KLIA.

• Raised how morality policing in Langkawi harms tourism.

• Supported bak kut teh (BKT) as a national heritage.

Some say Tiong (above) is doing what DAP used to do - speak out fearlessly on difficult issues. Others feel he is a grave threat to Malay values and dominance.


Bak kut teh

Let me start with the easiest issue. It’s well known that this is a famous Malaysian invention from Klang. China tourists crave it when they come here.

Isn’t it right for Malaysia to certify BKT as our official “national heritage” when Singapore has tried to claim it as theirs?

kt comments: The Sing version is a joke - I've tasted it - my nephew confessed Sing's BKT does NOT have 'Tong Kui' (Angelica sinensis) nor other required Chinese herbs - it contains mainly peppercorn, wakakaka

Yes, it’s usually made from pork and that caused an allergic racial reaction - even though nobody was asking Muslims to eat it. Must all national heritage be from one race?

Should Muslims then demand that Penang and Malacca withdraw their Unesco world heritage status because it was awarded for the multicultural mix that included Chinese and Hindu temples plus churches?

Malacca’s Jonker Street


In June, Tiong sidestepped the controversy by saying BKT can also be made from chicken, lamb, or seafood.

After all, Malays can accept halal dimsum or pao made of chicken. So wouldn’t halal BKT be another Malaysian cross-cultural delight?


Langkawi moral policing?

In September, Tiong claimed that non-Muslim tourists in Langkawi complained of moral “harassment” by Kedah state government officials.

Tourists alleged they were barred from wearing shorts and drinking alcohol on the island.

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor denied this.

Whatever the truth is, any “overzealous” morality officials will now probably think twice before imposing Islamic rules on non-Muslim visitors.


KLIA extortion?

In July, Tiong went to KLIA with MACC officers at 3am to “rescue” a detained China visitor who was allegedly asked by an “agent” to pay a RM15,000 bribe.

Rather dubiously, some officials tried to cover up the issue by claiming it was a “misunderstanding due to a language barrier”.

What was the conversation like I wonder? Was it: “Hello, you pay RM15,000, OK?” Oh my, that’s very hard to understand because it’s such “deep” English!

Jokes aside, Tiong asked why the immigration officers rejected the translators provided by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

Malaysian Association of Travel Agencies (Mata) president Mohd Khalid Harun congratulated Tiong for combating corruption at the country’s entry points.

Instead of asking for an MACC probe, Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh accused Tiong of breaching security protocols at KLIA – which was false as all ministers have VIP passes to enter sensitive airport areas.

Is Akmal saying that immigration is MACC - Mana Ada Corruption Case?

Tiong said, “What use would I have as a minister if I did not focus on something that can affect the country’s image and scare away foreign tourists?”


DG demoted

And now we come to the biggest racial hot potato. Tiong explained that Tourism Malaysia director-general Ammar Abd Ghapar was demoted (not sacked) because he could not perform the given task of attracting more tourists, despite being given multiple chances.

We’ve all heard about incompetent civil servants. Was Ammar one of them?

Well, after the brouhaha, Tourism Malaysia’s board of directors itself supported Tiong’s “strategic changes”, saying that promotion efforts must “drastically improve” as tourism arrivals are “still far behind pre-pandemic levels”. The verdict is clear.

Bank Negara Malaysia governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said tourist arrivals are a key driver of the services sector, which accounts for 58 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. In fact, tourism is the fifth largest contributor to our GDP.

But, as expected, there was a racial backlash. One viral WhatsApp message accused Tiong of wanting to abolish homestays “because it benefited many Malays” and also of “giving priority to China tourists”.

The first seems far-fetched, as there are also many profitable homestays run by Chinese people.

Ammar Abd Ghapar


As for China tourists, this is a gold mine of 1.4 billion people. Should we ignore it just because of some people’s racial prejudice? Remember that tourism revenue will benefit both Malays and non-Malays.

Thailand received 10 million visitors from China while Malaysia got only 1.5 million. Surely something is wrong? Why do many Malaysians themselves prefer Hatyai to Langkawi?


Tiong - hero or zero?

So is Tiong a “hero” for daring to take on “sensitive” issues in doing his job as Tourism Minister?

This politician comes from Sarawak, which does not have such toxic racial tensions as the peninsula. It’s a state where Muslims can eat nasi lemak at the same kopitiam table as a non-Muslim eating porky kolo mee.

Tiong is a rich man, so he doesn’t need to be a minister. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t bother to tiptoe around or sugarcoat prickly issues. Instead, he calls a spade a spade.

But one political observer said in a WhatsApp group, “Tiong is a liability to the Madani government. The DG may be incompetent. But you don’t insult him like this.”

He said this allows Malay “nationalists” to push their fear-mongering: “See, this is the price we Malays pay for allowing the Pakatan Harapan-led government to continue.”

But somebody replied, how much more do we want to continue “appeasement”? These are both valid concerns.

Could Tiong have been less dramatic in the KLIA case? He explained, “At first, I did not want to expose this as I wanted to use more practical platforms. But because this has gone viral and the media has contacted me, here is my explanation.”

He added that some officials had leaked the photo of him at KLIA.

The detainee was linked to a Chinese government TV station. It was an urgent situation for our national image. It was 3am. If Tiong just wanted an easy life as a minister, he could have continued sleeping.

Should he have waited for an “official probe”, as said by the Home Ministry? Or done a grand choreographed “official visit” to KLIA, as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim did after the hoo-hah?

After all, alleged corruption at KLIA is not new as the Mata president suggests. Should Tiong have gathered more evidence? Would 100 complaints by foreign tourists change the situation?

As for the DG, Tiong himself explained that he could not wait until Ammar retires in March 2025. He wants better results now.


Take a page from Tiong

On Feb 29, Umno Youth called for Tiong to be sacked over the DG demotion and the BKT issue.

Perhaps the new Madani government should learn from Tiong and take action against key civil servants who can’t perform. And everyone will then buck up for fear that they are next.

Rather than being overly worried if this or that group of voters will get upset, maybe it’s time for our leaders to quickly deliver on their promises of reform.

If that is the legacy of Tiong, then let’s thank him for being a thorn in the side of the system. Perhaps that is just what’s needed to wake up complacent politicians.



ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com