My apology was about accidents, not signage - Tiong
Published: Nov 26, 2024
Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing has clarified that his apology to China tourists last week had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding non-Malay languages being used on signages.
He said the apology was for several accidents involving foreign tourists on tour busses, which have led to injuries and deaths and raised doubts abroad about the quality of tourism in Malaysia.
Therefore, he said he sought to restore tourists’ confidence by assuring them that Malaysia is taking action to improve its safety measures - not just in China but also during his visit to Japan earlier this month.
“I apologised for our shortcomings in ensuring the safety of tourists and was not apologising for no reason. I want to emphasise that the apology had nothing to do with the signage issue.
“Instead, it is our responsibility as hosts to ensure tourists can enjoy their holidays safely and happily,” he said in a statement today.
When such holidays take a tragic turn, he said stern measures must be taken to prevent them from recurring.
“So, what is wrong with the apology?” he asked.
Tiong’s statement today also revealed that during his visit to Japan, he had apologised to accident victims and their families during meetings with the country’s Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry and travel agencies.
During his opening speech at a tourism expo in Shanghai, China, on Nov 22, Tiong apologised for the “unpleasantness” some Chinese tourists have experienced in Malaysia and vowed to improve safety measures.
However, the statement from his office at the time did not elaborate on the nature of the supposed unpleasantness or Malaysia’s shortcomings.
From tourism to signages
Nevertheless, Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal linked Tiong’s apology in Shanghai to the controversy surrounding signages, which Tiong has also recently commented on in a separate statement on Nov 24 - two days after his speech in Shanghai.
Wan Fayhsal criticised the apology as unwarranted and trivial.
Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal
“Why is he apologising in China? Is it because we allegedly don’t treat Chinese tourists well or lack the infrastructure to accommodate them?
“I just returned from China (Beijing and Shanghai). Was there ever an issue of us begging for English signboards there? No. We understand their policies and laws,” Wan Fayhsal said during a press conference in the parliament building yesterday.
In response through a Malay-language statement, Tiong questioned Wan Fayhsal, asking him why he is still stirring trouble in Parliament even though he has been suspended, and whether he had done his research before he spoke.
“I’m sorely disappointed with his attitude of seemingly looking for cheap publicity to the point of affecting harmony and misleading the people, instead of paying attention to more important issues,” he said.
In his Chinese-language statement, Tiong accused Wan Fayhsal of deliberately misrepresenting his statement by linking it to the controversy surrounding signage.
“If his family members were involved in the accidents, how would he feel?” he rebutted.
In his statement on Nov 24, Tiong said he had received questions from foreign tourists asking whether Malaysia is a racist or religiously extreme country, following Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s raids against signages that allegedly fail to give sufficient prominence to the Malay language.
“I just returned from China (Beijing and Shanghai). Was there ever an issue of us begging for English signboards there? No. We understand their policies and laws,” Wan Fayhsal said during a press conference in the parliament building yesterday.
In response through a Malay-language statement, Tiong questioned Wan Fayhsal, asking him why he is still stirring trouble in Parliament even though he has been suspended, and whether he had done his research before he spoke.
“I’m sorely disappointed with his attitude of seemingly looking for cheap publicity to the point of affecting harmony and misleading the people, instead of paying attention to more important issues,” he said.
In his Chinese-language statement, Tiong accused Wan Fayhsal of deliberately misrepresenting his statement by linking it to the controversy surrounding signage.
“If his family members were involved in the accidents, how would he feel?” he rebutted.
In his statement on Nov 24, Tiong said he had received questions from foreign tourists asking whether Malaysia is a racist or religiously extreme country, following Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s raids against signages that allegedly fail to give sufficient prominence to the Malay language.
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