By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Oct 7: Activist Peter John Jaban has called on Malaysian lawmakers to focus on promoting the country’s tourism industry and national priorities instead of engaging in divisive rhetoric over the serving of alcohol at a recent dinner linked to a travel meet.
In a statement, Peter John was referring to the controversy surrounding Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture Dato Seri Tiong King Sing over alcoholic beverages being served at a dinner organised in conjunction with Tourism Malaysia’s Global Travel Meet.
He said that Malaysia is a multi-cultural society where alcohol is not seen negatively by a large proportion of its people, adding that the fermenting and distilling of alcohol is an important part of the culture of many of our indigenous groups, including for ritual purposes.
“We must respect all the cultures and religions of Malaysia, of course. But Tiong has already clarified that this was a private sector dinner,” he said.
He added that since the alcohol at the event was funded by the private sector, no taxpayers’ money was involved.
“So why is this an issue for consideration by Cabinet? Do they not have more important issues to discuss?” Peter John questioned.
He went on to say that alcohol is routinely served to visitors to Malaysia, which in turn creates significant profits for the tourism industry and benefits the country.
“Even Langkawi provides alcohol duty-free. So why should serving alcohol at a dinner for international guests, at the expense of the private sector, be an issue?
“If no offence was intended, then perhaps none should be taken. We must, as Malaysians, accept the views of the many cultures that visit our country and enjoy our hospitality if we expect to profit from their contribution to our economy,” he said.
On Saturday (Oct 4), Masjid Tanah MP Mas Ermieyati Samsudin posted a video on Facebook questioning the serving of alcoholic beverages at a government event, which she claimed breached cultural and constitutional norms.
Tiong responded, stating the dinner was a private industry initiative, not a government function. He explained that Tourism Malaysia was only responsible for organising the Global Travel Meet, and the dinner was organised by private sector partners to celebrate Malaysia’s first global travel event of its kind.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim issued a warning to Tiong and his ministry, as well as to the Cabinet and Putrajaya’s machinery against negligence when it comes to the prohibition of serving alcohol at government events.
The ministry accepted the warning, pledging to do better to adhere to the established guidelines and ethical standards. — DayakDaily
