YOURSAY | ‘Politicians rather talk about alcohol vending machines, bak kut teh.’

‘Better access, lower cost is why Hat Yai is more alluring than Langkawi’

Neutral Point: People travel to Hat Yai in Thailand for their holiday instead of places in Malaysia despite our ringgit depreciation. People travel to Singapore to watch Taylor Swift despite the exchange rate.

Chinese tourists are flooding other countries instead of Malaysia. Big foreign manufacturers are moving out of Malaysia. More Malaysian parents are sending their kids to international schools and abroad for education.

What is left in Malaysia are a bunch of stupid politicians talking about alcohol vending machines, prohibiting Muslim stewardesses from serving alcohol, prohibiting Muslims from driving alcohol delivery trucks, arguing over bak kut teh, getting sensitive over allowing Chinese new villages to be classified as Unesco heritage sites, and talking about vernacular schools and unity after 60 years of independence.

Let’s not forget the politicians who were charged with corruption but are walking free.

Salvage Malaysia: Langkawi suffers from a poor offering of diverse food products. Just look at the commercial strip in Pantai Cenang.

Almost every shop sells the same thing - cheap clothing.

And there are so many abandoned properties which are an eyesore.

The state government seems clueless about how to enhance Langkawi’s appeal. PAS leaders know nothing about business and the economy.

Coward: Over here, we see industry players asking the government for help to promote Langkawi. Just looking for handouts.

The government, like it or not, does not know the real issues on the ground. Only with industrial participation do they get a feel of what is needed and be able to focus limited funds on things that matter.

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s comments, for example, are out of touch with reality because he is a bureaucrat sitting on his high pedestal looking down and he lost touch with reality on the ground and will not take responsibility for it.

JW: There are very important reasons why Hat Yai is doing better than Langkawi, e.g. tourists don’t have to worry about transgressing religious laws.

But what Thailand-Southeast Asia Halal Trade and Tourism Association president Aida Oujeh indicated is simply this: the people of Thailand rely a lot more on themselves - essentially entrepreneurship.

They get more creative and are willing to try things out for themselves. And if they fail, they will try again without running to their government for aid.

This is unlike here. Following the conclusion of the Bumiputera Economic Congress, the Madani government decided to set aside RM1billion to help with bumiputera entrepreneurship.

If people know they can rely on government handouts, why would they bother trying hard to come up with their own initiatives and learn from ventures that did not turn out as they expected?

This issue or problem is hardly new. Since the New Economic Policy of the 1970s, it has been proven often enough that easy money given out supposedly to help would mostly not create the desired results because human nature is such that people will take the easy way out.

Indeed, if you don’t know how to take the easy way out, you will be laughed at for being stupid.

FellowMalaysian: Langkawi is yet another awful and abject failure of Umno and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s government.

A lot of money was poured into the island to build five-star hotels and improve the island’s infrastructure.

But little effort is paid to maintaining these facilities and a recent visit revealed that much is left to be desired to shore up its claim that the island is a world-class tourist attraction.

I am not surprised that Hat Yai attracts more tourists now than Langkawi. This is another example of how the government has no economic or business sense.

Isn’t it a wonder why the ringgit has depreciated so badly?

Just a Malaysian: Hat Yai and Langkawi have been favourite tourist destinations due to their particular beauty. But now Langkawi is slowly losing its attraction. Why?

Seeking answers to this will help find solutions.

Just saying Hat Yai is cheaper and more fun is self-defeating. Langkawi is being so badly managed and the unfriendliness of the locals cannot beat the honest charm of the Thais.

Throw in religious grandstanding and no one wants to go to Langkawi.

6th Generation Immigrant: Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu are only next door to Hat Yai. So why aren’t tourists flocking to those states like the border towns in Thailand? Mind you, these were not bad local tourist draws not many moons ago.

Tourists weigh in on things they can and cannot do before deciding on where they want to go.

Places like Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah have so many regulations. Which tourists want to subject themselves to all that?

Unspin: Unlike the Thais, Malaysians, in general, lack a service culture.

Thais are very polite to tourists and they work together (as a country) to make sure that the tourists have a delightful experience so that they will return or tell their friends to visit Thailand.

The same cannot be said about some Malaysians in the service industry. They think that tourists owe them a living, not the other way around.

Aristo: Reduce the hotel rates in Langkawi and I guarantee local and Thai tourists will be there. Make sure there are more Instagramable tourist sites.

People these days only want to go to places where they can post unique pictures back home to their friends and family.

So Langkawi needs to be innovative and upgrade all its hotels and buildings and keep the beaches and town clean and vibrant.

It’s all about ideas. No point just complaining.

ScarletTurtle4183: Langkawi is such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, the state government doesn’t seem to know how to attract tourists. What a waste.

On a positive note, hopefully, this can help preserve and rehabilitate the lovely beaches around Langkawi.

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