PETALING JAYA: Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is disappointed that his advice on little things, like providing adequate tissue in public toilets, seems to have fallen on deaf ears.
He said he was trying his level best to ensure the success of Visit Malaysia 2007 in every possible way, but certain people were making it impossible.
He claimed to receive SMSes and e-mail from tourists complaining about poorly maintained public toilets and being fleeced by taxi drivers, among other things.
“I have been continuously telling everyone to look into small matters, such as ensuring the toilets are always clean and that there is adequate toilet paper, and providing more sitting, than squatting, toilets,” he said in an interview here yesterday.
“But nobody seems to be listening, and for every small thing – from the lack of toilet paper to high charges of public transportation – I get the blame even if they don’t fall under my jurisdiction.”
The frustrated minister was asked to comment on a recent letter in The Star from an Australian visitor who was disappointed about the tendency of people in some places to overcharge tourists.
She singled out taxi drivers as the main culprits, and also warned tourists to avoid public toilets because even the ones that charge for entry are poorly maintained and lack toilet paper.
Tengku Adnan said he knows of a tourist who was charged RM15 for a taxi ride from Bangsar to the MidValley Megamall.
“Please, don’t do this. The fare, most probably, is less than RM5,” he said. “Why do we need to spoil the country’s good reputation, just to earn extra bucks?”
“We don’t want to give them a bad impression on the first day of their arrival, and taxi drivers are usually the first people they meet.”
Tengku Adnan appealed to those in the industry to work with him to ensure the success of VM 2007.
Source : STAR
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