How about using Anwar as tourism mascot, asks Bersatu

Summary

• Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz takes a dig at the Tourism Association president calling Anwar a “tourism product”.

• The Bersatu info chief also weighs in on the debate surrounding the sun bear mascot.

Bersatu's information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz appears to believe that Malaysia should leverage Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's influence to boost tourism.

In a cheeky social media post, he humorously proposed using Anwar as the face of the country's tourism campaign.

His comment came in response to a statement by Malaysia International Tourism Development Association (Midta) president, Mahadzir Mansor, who referred to the prime minister as a tourism magnet.

Tun Faisal (above) raised the point while responding to the ongoing debate about the choice of a sun bear as the mascot for the Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.

“Suddenly, the sun bear is the mascot, but most Malaysians don’t even know this bear exists. The sun bear has never really been a tourist attraction or a symbol of Malaysia’s image

“Before this, the mascot linked to Malaysia was the orang utan or turtle. If it is a sporting team, it is linked to Harimau Malaya (Malayan tiger).

“But since Anwar is the latest tourist attraction, how about replacing the orang utan and turtle with him instead,” he added.

As for Mahadzir, Tun Faisal advised him to exercise restraint when “apple polishing”.

‘Anwar a tourism product’

In an article yesterday, the Midta president said Anwar, who became prime minister in November 2023, is a tourism product for Malaysia.

"Many people don't know but what brings tourists to Malaysia is because of Anwar’s efforts and his leadership as prime minister is a tourism product," he added.

The Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign has been mired in controversy after various quarters criticised a 41-second promotional video for not including mosques but featuring the Batu Caves temple in Selangor and the Christ Church in Malacca.

Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing subsequently clarified that the clip was a teaser and that mosques are included in the longer promotional video.

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