Kg Cina to China Town: Proposed name change draws flak

Former Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali has criticised the Terengganu government for reportedly considering rebranding Kampung Cina to China Town for more commercial reasons to attract foreign tourists.

According to him, the existing name in Malay is good enough.

"Harakahdaily reports that the Terengganu government will rebrand 'Kampung Cina' to 'China Town' because it is more commercial to attract foreign tourists.

"Is it nice to have a name in Malay suddenly changed to English? Where is the pride in the Malay language as the national language?" he asked in a press statement today.

Yesterday, Harakahdaily reported that Terengganu Tourism, Culture, Environment and Climate Change executive councillor Razali Idris as saying that his administration will hold discussions with Chinese NGOs in the near future, to discuss various matters including aspects of renewal in line with the rebranding efforts of the location.

According to him, the use of the international name China Town is seen as more commercial and is expected to attract international tourists to Terengganu.

Meanwhile, Khairuddin questioned whether foreign tourists come to visit because the name is in English or because they want to see the local culture and language.

"I hope that the Terengganu government administered by PAS will retain the original name 'Kampung Cina' to preserve the names of the villages in the national language.

"What's more, Chinese descendants in Terengganu on average speak Terengganu Malay dialect fluently. In fact, they are also proud of their Malay language," he explained.

The former minister also suggested, tongue in cheek, that if the branding is done, the executive council should also rebrand Pekan Kijal to 'Kijal Town'.

"If you want to change it, I suggest that the state also change Pekan Kijal to 'Kijal Town' to attract foreign tourists to the beautiful Kijal Beach," said Khairuddin, who is also the executive secretary of the Umno Ulama Council.

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