SPECIAL COMMITTEE SET UP PROMOTE MALAYSIA IN HONG KONG

FROM CHOI WEN FEEI

HONG KONG, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The Tourism Ministry has set up a special
committee to further promote Malaysia in Hong Kong.

Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen said one of the roles of the committee was to
disseminate information to every officer in Malaysia's consulate in the special
administrative territory on ongoing programmes held by the Tourism Ministry.

She said the committee would also be responsible for taking action on issues
related to tourism, such as complaints on getting visas.

She also said the committee would assist Malaysia External Trade Development
Corporation (MATRADE) in identifying potential investment areas and carry out
consumer awareness programmes to train frontliners in order to give better
service to Hong Kong tourists.

"After having a dialogue with major Hong Kong tour operators last night, it
has been learnt that competition is very keen from Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
Therefore, we have to find every opportunity to promote Malaysian tourism, and
that's the reason for the setting up of this committee," Ng said after a meeting
with officers of Tourism Malaysia for Hong Kong, and the Consulate General of
Malaysia here Wednesday.

She added that the committee would be headed by the Consul-General of
Malaysia in Hong Kong, Cheong Loon Lai, while Zaliha Zainuddin, who is Tourism
Malaysia director in Hong Kong, would be the secretary of the committee.

Meanwhile, during the dialogue, Hong Kong tour operators pointed out that
Hong Kong tourists mainly faced transportation problems when they were
travelling in Malaysia, especially Malaysian taxi drivers not charging according
to the meter and difficulty getting taxis when it rains and during rush hour.

Ng said she regretted this as it was a never ending complaint and that she
would bring it up with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyddin Yassin at the next cabinet
meeting so that a permanent solution could be found.

Regarding the issue of Hong Kong filmmakers facing bureaucracy when applying
for permits to do shooting in Malaysia, Ng said the Tourism Ministry would study
the possibility of establishing a "One Stop Assistance Centre" to facilitate
their applications.

She said the film industry had contributed in promoting Malaysia, for
instance, the Hong Kong movie "More More Tea Inn" had successfully made
Malaysia's Redang Island become a famous tourist attraction.
-- BERNAMA