Dr, what the FXXX is this about?

As a wee lad, I used to watch this TV series "6 million dollar man". Of course, now we have "RM1 million is nothing" woman, Dr. Ng Yen Yen.

After stirring/cooking up a little hoo haa over origin of food,
http://www.mmail.com.my/content/13545-nasi-lemak-ours

she went on and clarify that she never said we should patent the food.
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/bnm/20090923/tts-ng-food-993ba14.html


Of course she didn't say we should patent the food. I read the Malay Mail article and then Malaysia Insider and there is no mentioning of patents.

http://themalaysianinsider.com.my/index.php/malaysia/38002-truly-malaysian-tourism-minister-wants-to-stake-claim-on-popular-dishes

Registering for the patent will be a joke and enforcing it will be impossible. Just so soon after the MacDonalds and McCurry court case, surely Ng Yen Yen would not have miss out the message from this episode? Food fight without a firm argument to back you up is plainly unnecessary and waste of valuable time and money.

If Ng Yen Yen were to do that, what if MacDonalds patent burgers and start hunting down the Mat Ramli burgers by the road side and ask for royalty?

I suppose, following prevailing tradition and habits, self created crises that waste column inches is helluvaway to get noticed. It is also risk free because there is no need for a solution because, really, there is no problem while the real problems are left unattended.

It is good business for politicians to get noticed (as long as it is planned by the politicians themselves, try and ask another Dr. who was unfortunately got unplanned publicity during his off-duty time).

Just be careful, such craving for publicity and attention can be addictive; just ask another certain Dr. M who might know a thing or 2 about this kinda addiction.

Even certain non-BN celebrities have caught the bug. Good old Hassan instructed cases of custom-regulation-compliant beer to be taken away without warning or notice. Helluvaway to talk to business community and promote their confidence.

My advise to Ng Yen Yen as a voter and a tax payer is that, as a tourism minister, she can gain more mileage by taking on PAS Youth who wants to ban every foreign man, woman and bird to have a concert to Malaysia.

"Who is the heck you guys with wild imaginations approve, eh?" I can imagine her put er high heels down and bearing down on'em "The Singing Burkas?!!" That would put the kill-joys in their places.

This would taint and ridicule Malaysia as a destination for relaxation and fun. People's rice bowl in the entertainment industry will be affected,. Ng Yen Yen can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and yet she choose to pick food fights with Mr and Mrs Kiasu over the origins of unhealthy food items that we food-loving Malaysians never bother anyway. As long as it is affordable and yummy, there is no problem so why go and create 1? (Cia Pah Boh Tai Chi - belly full and too free, izzit?)

Seriously, the kill-joys only have 1 word in their vocabulary and that is "no". The kill joys should try to be constructive and put out a list of who they think can have the sing-along or whatever needs to be done so that they would not be offended. (Frankly, if the kill joys just not turning up would suffice). Their bag daddy also say they are "untuk semua" so why the No No No No, they got Dr No inside, izzit?

I think I should dedicate this article to Drs.......

H1N1 and the Tourism Minister

Whatever one calls it- 'balanced' reporting or 'played down' reporting simply means suppresed news. This is bad news indeed, with Malaysia's H1N1 count increasing and the fact that it takes 5 days for the Press to report the local transmission in Wangsa Maju, the Tourism Minister is calling out for less news on H1N1.

Insight on tourism statistics
Malaysia's tourism relies heavily on inbound tourists; about 22 million ( year 2008) of them per year arriving with about 50% tourists consistently arriving from Singapore and the other 50% from other parts of the world.

This Press report on Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen dated June 29 refers. Although she worries about the huge tourist drop from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and so on, the tourist count from these countries form a small percentage of Malaysia's total tourist arrivals only. Additionally, tourists from this part of the world do not contribute significantly to tourism revenue ie these groups do not spend much because of the average short stay of 3 nights. Also, they tapau (takeaway) a lot from the nearest convenience store- hence not contributing much to food & beverage revenue of the hotels they stay in.

Another factor is that these tour groups come in droves as opposed to single or couple travelers, causing hotel rooms being sold cheaply by the bulk to tour agencies. Rooms rates on the contrary, are usually sold higher to single or non-group travelers compared to transient groups. Lower room rates, lower revenue. Even though the decrease in tourists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan is significant, the impact on tourism revenue will be not be as significant.

Temporary solution for the tourism and hotel industry
Instead of using the fall in tourist arrivals from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan as a reason to suppress stories on H1N1, why not do the following to help out the hoteliers and the tourism industry:

1)Get TNB to offer a temporary discount of say 50% off for 6 months, or waive that 'maximum' tariff rate on peak periods for hoteliers. Power cost is a major hotel killer cost- at least 50% of running costs of a hotel is electricity cost. Besides, Tenaga's maximum demand peak charge is an unfair monopolistic charge.

2)Create a better tourism yield- let's forget about the tourists from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan for a moment and shift our attention to geographical segments which contribute to higher tourism revenue. These market segments contribute a bigger thrust in tourism revenue because of the higher spending power of the people in these countries. Also these tourists tend to have longer average room nights compared to the China, Hong Kong and Taiwan tourists. The continents I am talking about are Europe, the Middle East (Middle East season is starting soon) and Russia (Russian peak season starts from December and ends somewhere in January). Get the higher spending tourists in right now. Get MAS to increase long-haul flights from those countries to our island resorts. Our island resorts need these flights in.
Why island resorts? Resorts have higher room rates, higher food and beverage prices plus a longer stay factor. All these are factors which contribute to higher tourism revenue.

3)Improve the service standards of the tourism industry. Service still sucks even in some 5-star hotels. The Tourism Ministry's hotel rating system puts too much emphasis on hotel hardware and too little on hotel service. For example, what's the point of having a nice swimming pool when hotel staff can't even serve your breakfast right? 5-star hotels must not only look good but serve good. The combination of great hardware and great service is a pulling factor for returning visitors. That's why international chains like InterContinental and Starwood invest millions in systems to continuously improve their service standards.
Yen Yen, it is time to revamp the hotel-rating system because Malaysia has one of the lowest (worst) hotel rates in the world.

4)Why is it that the greenish murkier waters off the beach of Phi Phi Island (Thailand) attract more tourists that the clear you-can-see-your-legs waters at Pulau Singa Besar (Langkawi). I'm baffled. What's happening to the A&P (advertising and promotions) of our country? I thought the budget's quite big for this?


Below: Screenshot fom MAS's online booking webpage- no direct flights from Heathrow UK to Langkawi.

















I have said enough points. The next time someone tells you that it is ok to suppress info on infectious diseases because it impacts the country's tourist industry, please think again.

Malaysia's tourism industry and the Tourism Minister

Above: Source: http://www.tourism.gov.my/

Receipts from tourism have grown 21% from 2006 to 2007 (RM36 billion to RM 46 billion in 2007) and with the total number of tourist arrivals of 17.55 million and 20.97 million in 2006 and 2007 respectively this makes the average receipt per tourist to be RM2,066 in 2006 and RM2,198 in 2007. This makes it a growth in tourist receipt of 6% from 2006 to 2007. That is not a lot, if you take away the Malaysia's inflationary impact from this growth rate. Eventhough the receipts have increased by RM10 billion in 2007, and the tourist arrivals increased 16% in 2007, tourists on the average are not spending a lot more- the increase in average spending per tourist has increased only by 6%.

In terms of hotel guests by locality, the Pakatan Rakyat states hold about 50% of local and foreign tourists in terms of hotel rooms nights. This is based on historical facts published by Tourism Malaysia which I pieced together. The breakdown is as follows:

Kuala Lumpur 16%
Selangor 7%
Penang 8%
Langkawi Island 6%
East Coast 5%
Ipoh 4%
Alor Star & Sg Petani 4%
Total 50%

With the PR states commanding 50% of the hotel room nights it makes sense for Azalina the Tourism Minister to withdraw the tourism MOUs with those states right after she was appointed Minister. However, this kind of hostility is not acceptable. Take a look at Tourism Malaysia's official charter:

VISION	To develop Malaysia into a leading tourism nation
MISSION	To implement the National Tourism Policy towards making the tourism industry the nation's main source of income for the socio-economic development of the country
NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY	To turn the tourism industry into a major, sustainable, viable and quality sector which contributes to the socio-economic development of the country
OBJECTIVES	To develop a sustainable tourism industry in order to generate a major source of income for the country To promote the tourism sector professionally, efficiently and continuously to meet the needs and preferences of foreign and local tourists To strengthen and upgrade a quality service delivery system in order to ensure tourist satisfaction
FUNCTION	To formulate the national tourism policy to achieve the Ministry’s vision, mission and objectives To implement policies pertaining to the progress and development of the tourism industry To co-ordinate, monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of tourism programmes and projects
CLIENT’S CHARTER	To provide quality and timely Tourism Delivery services To provide quality tourism activities/programmes to promote participation and appreciation of the tourism industry To provide superior and viable tourism infrastructure throughout the country To enforce and implement the provisions of the Tourism Industry Act and the Tourism Vehicle Licensing Act including the regulations there-under, efficiently and effectively To promote the country as a leading local and international tourist destination

What hogwash. Not even a single point of the above is implemented nor are we near anywhere near of being a tourism hub. No need to go far on - even in Asia, Malaysia is not the leading destination and it won't be, compared to Bangkok and Hong Kong... or even Singapore. In Hong Kong, the shopping malls in Causeway Bay are busy drawing crowds way after 11pm during weekdays. In Malaysia, the shopping places close by 10pm weekdays. There are no religion issues in other countries, but in Malaysia you randomly get raided and accused for khalwat. Look at the forum response here. It does not matter you a re Muslim or non-Muslim, married or single- you still get whacked by the Religious Department if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The tourism infrastructure is horrible- I guarantee you that the guy manning the tourism booth at Jalan Sultan Ismail- Jalan P. Ramlee intersection (right at the corner of Shangri-la hotel) is always at lunch break during lunch time. It's ok if you are a factory guy but a no-no if you are absent from your station in the tourism industry. Other issues are:

- not enough direct flights from Europe and major Asian cities into places such as Langkawi, Labuan and the East Coast of Malaysia. Most of these flights are to the KLIA and it takes the average foreign tourist a hour more by flight and 6 hours more by road to get to say, Langkawi from KLIA. Travel expenses increase as well.
-cabbies in Malaysia charge high fares.
-the Islam factor- room raids, bar raids, terrorism (dunno why there's this scare)
-cleanliness factor- dirty toilets, roads etc.
-lousy handicap facilities
-high crime-rate (yikes- even the citizens are terrified of this!!!)

Left: Sunset at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.

In Malaysia if you are in the hotel industry you get penalized if the Federal Govt wins (not the other way around)- as in the case of the terminated MOUs. Its even worse if you are in a city hotel doing Government business- the 9th June 2008 RM2 billion fiscal cut on Government entertainment did more harm than good. Anyone with simple understanding of economics know that the economic pie is fixed, all segments in the economy are relative to one another. For those new to economics jargon a fiscal policy is something of a policy or act which the government aims to influence the economy with, i.e. taxes, reduction in spending, etc. Government spending is still major fuel to the various economic sectors in Malaysia- the RM2 billion entertainment cut was actually an exchange for a RM2 billion reduction in revenue for the retail and hotel sector. Any economics student would have know this, but not the experts at Putrajaya, wtf... but the Tourism Minister was pretty silent when this cut was announced in June 2008.

Malaysia's fuel ban on foreign motor vehicles

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Reuters) - A temporary curb on foreign motorists buying fuel at Malaysian petrol stations will begin on Monday, two days later than earlier planned, local media reported on Saturday.

A Domestic Trade Ministry official said the change was made to allow all parties involved to be ready.

"This is to ensure that all parties involved in the implementation of the rules, including traders and users especially foreigners, understand the guidelines," Iskandar Halim Sulaiman was quoted as saying by Berita Harian.

Malaysia had earlier said filling stations in its towns bordering Singapore and Thailand would be temporarily barred, starting Saturday, from selling fuel to foreign-registered vehicles in a move aimed at curbing the abuse of subsidies.

Hundreds of Thai and Singapore motorists cross into Malaysia daily to seek cheaper diesel and petrol.

The Malaysian authorities have said the ban would be lifted when a new fuel subsidy mechanism is in place to ensure that only deserving Malaysians receive the subsidies. (Reporting by Liau Y-Sing; Editing by Valerie Lee).

It's another way of saying- people from Singapore and Thailand, please don't drive into Malaysia. And considering Malaysian Permanent Residents in Singapore- please don't come home. And it's still Visit Malaysia Year till August 2008. Instead of banning foreign car owners from buying petrol why not sell them petrol at a higher rate. The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry should study and come up with a rate structure which allows the selling of petrol to foreign registered vehicle owners at the market rate not an outright ban. Come up with the price structure, then brainstorm on a mechanism to regulate and control the petrol sales to foreign vehicles. Not an outright ban of petrol sales to Singaporeans and Thais.

Singaporean and Thai tourist arrivals to Malaysia make up about 50% (10.5 million) and 8% (1.6million) of total tourist arrivals in 2007 (source: Malaysia Tourism Board). Average tourist spending in Malaysia was slightly above RM2,000 per tourist in 2007. Average spending per tourist per night was slightly above RM300 in 2007. Given the short distance between Singapore and Johor, the obvious logical choice for Singaporeans is to drive-in rather than to fly into Malaysia. Whilst Thai tourists fly and drive to Malaysia in an equal ratio, about over 95% of Singaporeans drive across the Causeway. With the ban, Singaporeans, the biggest market segment of tourist arrivals, cannot drive in Malaysia any more. I hope the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and Ministry of Tourism (by consultation) has studied the impact on Malaysian tourism before banning petrol sales to this market segment.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Abdul Samad and Tourism Minister Azalina Othman, did not you all discuss about this beforehand? You guys would not have lasted a day in the corporate sector with this kind of performance.

Tourism Minister terminates MOUs with Opposition-led states

The Star

3 April 2008



KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism memorandums of understanding with Opposition-ruled state governments will be terminated given the change in leadership, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said this was in line with the termination of Tourism Action Councils in the states which were previously chaired by Barisan Nasional’s state executive councillors in charge of tourism in each state.

“Normally, the council works together with the state executive council and local authorities.

“But now that the leadership in the state governments have changed, we have to terminate the MoUs and the councils,” she told a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday.

Perak, Penang, Selangor and Kedah fell to the Opposition in last month's general election.

Azalina said that a committee would instead be set up, with members appointed by the Federal Government similar to the format implemented in PAS-held Kelantan.

“We will appoint committee members from the tourism community to help develop tourism in these states,” she said.

Azalina said some tourism events, such as the Penang Music Festival (in May) and the Langkawi Water Festival (this weekend), would go ahead and contracts with state contractors would be honoured.

“However, we will re-evaluate plans for other events if they have not started or if the contractors have not been appointed.

“Maybe we have to look at other venues or options. But there is no total boycott in tourism. We have to play it by ear and see what these state governments do,” she added.

Azalina said industry players she met recently, including hoteliers and travel agencies, had expressed concern over tourism in Opposition-held states, given the players’ huge investments, especially in Penang and Kedah.

“They hope there will not be any negative policies in these states that will affect tourism,” she added.

On PKR, DAP and PAS’ decision to form Pakatan Rakyat, Azalina said it would not last long given their different policies, unlike Barisan which had the same manifesto for all.

“Politics is a marriage of convenience. Politicians can say anything they want to gain the people’s support.

“Maybe Pakatan Rakyat will work for a month or a year but it will break up in the end as they are too different,” she added.