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KL among safest and liberal cities, says Matta
Published:  May 11, 2016 11:35 AM
Updated: 11:23 PM

A tour operator has refuted claims that crime and conservative image are hurting Malaysian tourism.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) president Hamzah Rahmat said that Kuala Lumpur is one of the safest cities in the world.

“Kuala Lumpur is one of the most popular and safest cities. Thanks to common knowledge and word of mouth, 12 million foreign visitors are expected to visit the city this year.

“The last thing we need is to adopt a siege mentality and go on a defensive to counter perceived threats. Such self-fulfilling prophecy would pose a greater danger,” Hamzah said.

He was responding to the remarks made by a speaker at the Global Tourism Cities Conference 2016.

Hamzah said the speaker, Bert van Walbeek, managing director of The Winning Edge, had quoted from a website which sourced an article from another website ranking the most dangerous cities in Asia based on input by visitors to the website and software to crunch numbers.

“It was not produced from official statistics or comprehensive studies,” said Hamzah in a statement today.

He added that the ranking was rebutted by inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar last month who said that it was an unfair and lopsided claim as tourists here could freely and safely walk the streets without incident.

On van Walbeek's claim that there is perception that one cannot drink beer in Malaysia, Hamzah said that licence is not even required to sell beer in the country.

“It is available in sundry and coffeeshops, and priced about the same as soft drinks in duty-free islands such as Langkawi.

“Those fancying swanky establishments can head to the TREC Lifestyle and Entertainment Hub at Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur, which is a designated entertainment zone boasting 77 units of lifestyle and food and beverage outlets, including the largest club in Asia, Zouk,” he pointed out.

As for safety, Hamzah said it was relative to the measures taken by individuals as “no place on earth can be totally safe”.

“In any city, (a person) dressed to the hilt and standing by the roadside for a long time will run the risk of being mugged or rolled over by a passing vehicle,” he said.

Van Walbeek was quoted by The Malay Mail Online yesterday, highlighting worldatlas.com that lists four cities in Malaysia as among the most dangerous cities in Asia ― Kuala Lumpur (second), Petaling Jaya (third), Klang (fifth), and Johor Baru (10th).

The website describes Kuala Lumpur as a city that has “high crime rates”, including snatch thefts, pickpockets and serious crimes like murder, rape and robbery.

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