MGG Pillai Commentary View

<< Previous || Next >>

The National Front government in sixes and sevens over the Chinese tourist

MALAYSIA IS A SAFE place to visit, says the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents. It is. But tourists from Asia and Africa must allow themselves to be harassed by agencies of the government. That they are is in no doubt. This is a multi-racial country is which the non-Malays are as badly treated as the Asian and African tourists. But the deputy information and former newspaper editor, Dato' Zainuddin Mohamed, has asked 'various parties, not to inject racial overtones into the MMS videclips issue and the crackdown on illegals. The 'ear squats' by women stripped in police station for forgetting passports is normal, he implies, for they may be carrying drugs on them. The authorities have created a side issue of 50,000 illegal Chinese tourists in this country. They say it is deliberate. But the existence of these illegals reveal how impetent they are. By their own admission, as the DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng, points out, Singapore's population between 2000 and 2003 are illegal stayers in Malaysia. Nothing is done about that. But the authorities have created a campaign to catch the 50,000 illegal Chinese tourists! But Malaysia is a safe country. The MATTA president, Mr Ngiam Foon, assures that Chinese visitors here can feel at home. There were now announcements in Chinese at the immigration counters and 'signagess in that language, too' at the KLIA airport, placed there after the event. But Chinese tourists do not listen to Malaysian statements to the contrary when their experiences are different. It is not official hopes but practice that matter. And that leaves much to be desired.

It is a fact that tourists from Asia and Africa are harassed. That to officialdom does not matter since the citizen in this country is also harassed. The nude 'ear squats' by women is not new. Police use it regularly to harass non-Caucasian tourists, and those it perceives are the enemy of government. Whatever the authorities say, it does exist. Malaysians and tourists have stepped forward to say they have been victims in the past. The authorities admit the police does it. It has set up a commission of inquiry, but they have refused to have on it opposition MPs, those who have a contrary view, and it comes after a royal commission of inquiry which showed the police could not be trusted. It had denied until it said in its report that the former deputy prime minister, Dato' Anwar Ibrahim, had been beaten to a pulp by the then Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Rahim Noor. The present crisis is not discussed in Parliament. It wants to resolve it in such a way it is exculpated. The authorities' attitude is that it is alone against the world. They have in the past harassed the public and they had taken courage that the public had kept quiet. The public is only to elect in the National Front so that it could harrass or sideline them. That is evident in Pengkalen Pasir, where two receipts are distributed to show the BN Bilek Gerakan (operations centre). This has not been denied, but it is investigating who bought the drinks which is giving the National Front a bad name. A small version of that happens in Kuala Lumpur about Chinese tourists not visiting Malaysia!

But a Kelantan UMNO division chief cannot finish the day without choice whiskies, brandies and vine; his office in Kuala Lumpur has all these in its exclusive liquor cabinet. Many UMNO bigwigs who have come into Pengkalen Pasir must have their 'stengahs' (in fact several) whisky, brandy and wine daily. They are Muslim. They should not drink liquor. But the Islamic injunction on liquor is not for them; it is for the Malay voters in constituences like Pengkalen Pasir! If UMNO candidates must sign a declaration that they do not drink, as the Quran decrees they must not, most of them in the Nation Front governments throughout the country will not function. That is why people in Pengkalen Pasir believe the two receipts, and not deputy prime minister Dato' Seri Najib Tun Razak. But those in authority are allowed to do what others cannot. That is the crux of the issue here. Whatever the authorities say is disbelieved on the ground. Those in authority know they are doing what they must not. Otherwise, why should they should they say they do not? They do what they must after the event, like putting Chinese-speakers at KLIA, and Mr Ngiam Foon suggests, wrongly, it has been there all the time. This Janus-faced application of the laws is normal in Malaysia. There are no ifs and buts about it.

The Chinese tourists coming to Malaysia has declined by two thirds this year to September compared to last. The authorities have something to hide over why these tourists are not coming. So they cling to intentions to justify their wrongdoing. The authorities act to bring the Chinese tourist back to Malaysia. They will do anything, even temporary solutions, to show they are wrong, and it say it would not happen again. But when the Chinese tourist is back, it is business as usual. That is why Parliament or opposition MPs are not brought into these discussions. Parliament is there only to show Malaysia is a parliamentary democracy, and to hoodwink the foreignors. It also keeps National Front members quiet, for the MPs are given an allowance that are in effect sinecures. The National Front members are corrupt, and can do nothing. The authorities are also corrupt and do not do their work. That is why they find creative ways why the otherside is guilty. But the guilty would not be if the authorities do their work. But the backlog become useful, in matters like Chinese tourists not coming to Malaysia, to blame the Chinese tourist!

The Chinese government has also taken decisions against Malaysia. The Malaysian cabinet told the press of the home affairs minister, Dato' Azmi Khalid, going to China before Beijing was asked if it was free to receive him. The Chinese ambassador was not consulted as he should have. The visit has been postponed to December 20. But not before China sent a protest note to Malaysia about ill-treating its citizens. Dato' Azmi Khalid blamed the press for highlightning the nude woman ear squat, implying that the Chinese believed the international press more than it believed its ambassador. Dato' Azmi can go to China if he wants a holiday, for China has announced decisions that Malaysia had hoped it would not. It has become much ado about nothing. Even if Pak Lah visited Beijing now, it would be too late. Unless the people who should be punished are before the trip.

There is another problem: people in the government speaking at cross purposes in public. The deputy internal security minister, Dato' Noh Omar, said foreigners should stay home if they are not prepared to follow local laws, but he was immediately contradicted by his minister and prime minister, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The man was not sacked, as he should have been. It showed Pak Lah to be weak as a National Front leader. What is important to the authorities is proof that the nude woman in the MMS videoclip is not a Chinese citizen, and who took it. The Malay policewoman supervising the ear squat, who has been traced, is not their concern. The foreigner in Malaysia is told to carry his passport with him at all times. He is harassed for carrying a photostat of his passport. The passport is, as any Malaysian knows, is a valuable document. Lose it, and it is a hassle to get a replacement, especially if you happen to be overseas. A foreigner in Kuala Lumpur with a valid passport and work permit has been harassed by policeman for doing just that. In which country in the world are tourists required to carry their passport at all times? In Malaysia you are told to. If Malaysia is a modern country attracting tourists, do you attract them by implementing rules like these?

What is frightening is that we know the law even less after the crisis began. The officials do not know the law, and interpret what they think is the law. Often they are wrong. In Pengkalen Pasir, the National Front called on PAS to resign if it lost the byelection, not knowing the election law that imposed a five-year rule against contesting any elections if they did. The newspapers, all owned by individuals or organisations belonging to the National Front, do a public relations job when a crisis like this develops. If you expect government policies to be explained, don't. They will be on the side of the tourist one day, and the government the next. When they print something controversial, of what they deem controversial, they often print the official Bernama news agency report of the incident or policy as their own. Only when It is challenged does Bernama's name often comes out. That is why you do see the same report by different names in different newspapers. You do not read the newspapers or follow the official media for what happens: they will give you the official version of events, not often what is often happening. Now you will read or see a one-sided report of the crisis, which may not be the truth. That is why an official complaint is often made to the government, and not to the editor of where it appeared.

In any case, this crisis should not have appeared in the press. It should have been negotiated secretly, and announced to the press when it has been resolved. But it has to be published because of the hidden Malay Dominance (Ketuanan Melayu) policy that governs every Malay in the government services. The non-Malays must be oppressed at any cost. That includes any foreigner who likes a non-Malay. That is why Indians, Pakistanis, Myanmarese, Vietnamese, Nepalise are also targetted. But they do not pose problems as the Chinese tourist has. And they do not have a government who will flex its muscles if it can. I have been a citizen from before Malayan independence, born here, but I have been illtreated by the police over the years for no rhmye or reason. Why is why I believe what happened to the tourists, not the official version. I find officiousness at all levels. When I wanted to see National Front MP of my constituency, I was asked to see his monkey, an MIC assistant. I got the DAP MP from another constituency to solve my problem. Others in my constituency have not also been able to see the MP, who mercifully lasted only one term. You could find that this happens in every level of police or government servant bureaucracy. The government will solve this crisis only to keep the hidden Ketuanan Melayu policy. But it will be a temporary fix, and not bring tourists here from Africa and Asia as Malaysia expects.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@streamyx.com