KUCHING, Jan 12: The Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (Motac) has allocated RM3.5 million to promote Perlis’ tourism industry under Visit Perlis Year (TMPs) 2024-2025.
Responding to Perlis Menteri Besar Mohd Shukri Ramli, who expressed ‘disappointment’ after not receiving feedback from Motac regarding the matter, Tiong, who is Minister for Motac, said Mohd Shukri failed to mention that his side did not attend the meeting held in Putrajaya on Nov 14 last year together with other states tourism development exco members.
“In a meeting held on Nov 14, 2023, in Putrajaya, Motac invited the tourism exco from each state for a discussion. Unfortunately, the exco from Perlis did not attend.
“Instead, they sent an official from Motac Perlis as a representative,” said Tiong in a Facebook post yesterday (Jan 11).
Tiong reiterated that he fully supports any state that wants to hold any celebration or event related to the tourism sector, be it big or small event, because it will not only help the respective state’s economic development but also the people and make Visit Malaysia Year 2026 a success.
“I hope that every state can give full cooperation and establish a close relationship with Motac to make this mission a success,” he added.
On the same note, Tiong also reminds the Perlis Menteri Besar that all funding approved by the Ministry needs to be discussed in detail because public resources must be allocated reasonably to ensure the allocations are targeted to increase local tourism.
He said the money does not come rolling in by itself; this provision comes from the country’s taxpayers.
“If Perlis Menteri Besar is serious about promoting tourism, he can communicate and negotiate with us through various methods and discuss well instead of using an antagonistic approach.
“After all, the federal and state governments should work together to help the country’s tourism industry thrive,” he said.
On Jan 11, it was reported that the Perlis government was disappointed over what it claimed was a non-response from Motac regarding allocations requested to upgrade tourist locations, especially for TMPs 2024-2025.
Mohd Shukri also claimed Tiong did not provide any response to the state government’s request for a meeting to discuss the matter. — DayakDaily
