The Consumers Association of Penang calls on the government to rethink and withdraw its plans to build a Disneyland resort in Johor.

What Malaysians and tourists want are more open spaces and natural parks - not theme parks like Disneyland which will have a devastating homogenising effect that western civilisation already has on the culture of the world.

Our own culture and other cultures around the world have been decimated, submerged and dominated by western culture through the media, education and entertainment in the post- colonial era.

The development of Disneyland in Malaysia will be the epitome of the cultural domination of Malaysia. It will appear that we do not already have enough problems trying to cope with the negative impact of westernisation, especially the destructive lifestyle and its impact on our youths. It will also appear that we are inviting cultural domination in the name of tourism development.

Billions of ringgit will go into such development. The government should instead concentrate on meeting the basic needs of the people and not siphon and divert precious resources which could instead be used to improve the quality of life of the people.

Such mega-developments will have negative effects such as overexploitation and degradation of the natural environment, pollution, loss of traditional values and cultures, displacement of communities and loss of valuable agricultural land.

Tourism projects have serious consequences on our physical and social environment. We should question ourselves as to who really benefits from tourism. What is needed is to maintain our natural parks and to leave them to their natural state. We do not need international brands like Disneyland to pull tourists into Malaysia.

The writer is president, Consumers Association of Penang.