Is Malaysia prepared to lose out on tourism due to slanders?

BY: MUKUNDAN NAIR

Visit Malaysia 2026 is set to take place next year.

Without a doubt, Thaipusam is a major festival that is going to draw in the tourists from various parts of the world as it is a tourist attraction event.

In 2026 the Hindu festival religious festival would be celebrated on Feb 1 and 2.

At this point of time an independent preacher known as Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu is spreading slanders about a festival he does not have an inkling of an idea to a crowd that equally does not understand it even though they have lived with Hindus for decades.

According to a report from The Star, Thaipusam drew 1.8 million foreign and domestic tourists. This figure is just for Batu Caves.

Focus Malaysia reported Penang welcoming upto 1.5 million Hindu devotees including tourists from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

A religious celebration in the scale of Thaipusam brought in 25 million international tourists in 2024, Reuters reported.

Figures over ‘facts’

This was an increase of 24.2 percent compared to the figures in 2023 that stood at 20.14 million.

It is definitely a major event for the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry under Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

Mind you, even Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim acknowledged the hard work that Tiong puts in to get tourists flocking to Malaysia.

The above figures are facts that needs to sink into the skulls of the authorities instead of buying stock and barrel what is said by a faith peddler who does not only insult his former faith but also goes against the tenets of his present faith.

Peddling the so called facts of a faith peddler would not only decrease the above figures, it would also affect related industries such as transportation and most importantly the image of Malaysia as a multicultural nation.

Faith peddlers such as the one named would only serve to worsen the well being of the Malaysian community.

Why?

Reduced number of tourists means lesser income for individuals. That also means lesser GDP for the nation.

There would be a negative domino effect in the Madani government’s efforts to cushion the rise in the cost of living for all Malaysians.

Is this worth it?

Think and decide wisely.