Image via WikipediaI read an article written by an expatriate in Malaysia about his view on Malaysia. A perspective from expatriate living in Malaysia and fond of Malaysia. He wrote, what are the next big things in Malaysia i.e. places to visit in Malaysia ? He admitted that he loves Malaysia so much. He made comparison with Malaysia's neighbor none other than Singapore with Marina Sand Resort and Universal Studio were recently opened for visitors.I read also an article written by one of Raslan's brother, Karim Raslan about similar heading, how he would like to see Malaysia in the next year to come politically.
Having working outside Malaysia, I heard so many remarks and comments about Malaysia. Following are remarks that was made to me about their experiences in Malaysia ;
Qatari # 1: "Malaysia is a good place to visit for family, but boring for singles."
Qatari #2 : " Malaysia is a nice country and I like it "
Qatari # 3 : " Malaysia offers more choices and cheaper compared to Singapore "
Indonesia # 1 : " What I do not like about Malaysia is the taxi drivers and I was approached by "an uncle" that offers portfolios of " prostitutes " "
Egyptian # 1 : " I was approached by "an uncle" in the bus who showed me portfolios of " prostitutes " and I did not believe myself it is happening in Malaysia "
Palestinian # 1 : " You have such a wonderful and beautiful country, my friend "
British # 1 : " I thought Twin Towers is such an ugly building, yet I was wrong ! and traveling with Air Asia is damn cheap "
Philippines #1 : " Oh my sister visited Kuala Lumpur and she said, it is a wonderful city, and I plan to visit Kuala Lumpur to see myself "
Moroccan # 1 : " You have such a beautiful country. Yes, I did have bad experience with taxi driver , but it happened everywhere "
Indian #1 : " My husband was in Kuala Lumpur, and he loves the city very much "
Indonesian # 2 : " Oh , Vincci shoes in Malaysia is so cheap and affordable with good quality "
Palestinian # 2 :" My wife was in Paradise shopping in Malaysia, and Vincci was her favourite shop "
So, based on the above, I can deduce that majority of the people who I bumped into have a good experiences to tell about Malaysia, but what are next big things about Malaysia ? Is it reasonable enough to envision that Malaysia is "Paris of the East" i.e. the most visited country in the world one day ? If that day ever to happen, when it will be ? What it takes to be Paris of the East ? Paris boasts herself as city of Romance, Culture, Fashion, Parks, Shopping and etc. So much to see in Paris and France despite strong and stiff competition from its neighbors like London,Rome, Madrid, Berlin and Frankfurt, just to name a few.
Personally, in my view I believe Malaysia or Kuala Lumpur can be Paris of the East or " Pearl of the East " sooner or later if the following are taken into considerations ;
1. Greater Kuala Lumpur Project is a reality
If the project and initiative by the government will become a reality, there is no doubt Kuala Lumpur will be one of the most visited city in the world. I would imagine traveling around Kuala Lumpur is a breeze, convenient
2. Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia needs an identity
Kuala Lumpur needs an identity and a brand to call its own. It is like when people mention Kuala Lumpur, one shall have flashes of images playing in his/her mind. Just like Paris , city of love and its cafe, fashions, art and museums. Me ? I have image of Twin Towers and the traffic, and the former is very unfortunate. As for now, Kuala Lumpur is neither here nor there.I must say a mix of Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta and Vietnam to certain extent.
3. More shopping complexes would not do justice !
Unique shopping experiences do ! Some quarters think that having more shopping complexes with help to drive tourism in the country. Yes, it is one aspects of it as it has its multiplier effects, but shopping complexes are not all about Kuala Lumpur or Malaysia. What different shopping experiences it made in Dubai ? London? Singapore ? Jakarta ? Bangkok ? Basically, the brands in Kuala Lumpur are the same in everywhere, and some brands even not available in Kuala Lumpur and price wise, Kuala Lumpur are not much different from other shopping destinations.
Kuala Lumpur has to establish itself as city that provide different shopping experiences to the tourist, catering from back packers to the high income and rich shoppers. That is what we call shopping heavens, when you can find anything under the sun with such a competitive price and quality of products which are unique. We are not lack of pool of talented designers.
While building and constructing shopping complexes are not wrong at all, the design of the those shopping complexes shall be unique - fushion of traditional Malays, Chinese, Indians which align to the concept of Malaysia Truly Asia ! Why not taking queue design from from Islamic, Indian and Chinese civilization with elements of modernity and environmental friendly to make it unique appeals to the shoppers, at the same time something that the shoppers are looking forward to enjoy the whole experiences of shopping in Malaysia.
3. Integrated Unique Development
I must say , Malaysia can be divided into few main part with its own attractions and uniqueness. The Greater Kuala Lumpur, The Northern , Southern and East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and also the East Malaysia. Yes, we have the so called economic corridor, and my view this economic corridor shall have it own unique identity. I have heard so much about Iskandar development and how about the rest ? These economic corridor shall not stand on its own, and in one way or another shall be integrated development, complementing each others. I know there is Legoland project is coming out in Iskandar Malaysia, and I have yet to hear similar attractions in other economic corridor. Malaysia is a country with so much to offer, but I do not see we are really exploiting it to the maximum. From my personal experiences, for example Morocco - each of the states offers its own attraction to the tourists at large for example Agadir - with its beach and wind surfing activities, Marrakech- with its unique red colours and its park & outdoor activities, Fes and Meknes- Medieval Cities, Ouazarzate- desert related tourism and Hollywood of the Africa, Tangiers- port city and its night life, Casablanca- the heart of business in Morocco. Yes, Malaysia is doing the bit of it, but not a wholesome and integrated approaches. People do know Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi but only certain segments knows about Sabah & Sarawak, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Johor and Perak, simply because there is no establish identity for the mentioned states. That where I am coming from when I did mention that each of the corridor shall have its own uniqueness and attractions to make people keep coming back to Malaysia for different reasons.One might argue, Paris or Morocco do have decades of long civilization dated centuries ago but my argument , why not we create our own civilization for the future generations. It is about sustainable and responsible development.
4. Recreating and Rewriting history
Great civilizations happened not in Malaysia as compared to the Europeans, Rome, Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Syria [ Muayyad], Iran [ Parsi], Egypt and etc. However, Malaysia shall recreate and rewrite the history in accordance to own versions like America is doing. We shall balance the civilization with spiritual aspects of it. Learn from those histories and rewrite it by taking the best practices and not to repeat the same that bring down those civilizations. Each of the corridors, shall have their own civilization for future generations.
5. People and human capital development
Another thing, Malaysia shall be the centre of excellent in the Far East, standing in the eyes of other great universities like Harvard, Standford, Oxford, Cambridge and Al-Azhar.
It takes the political will to do all those. Yes, at one time it is easier said than done but with all concerted efforts, it can be done. Rome is not build in one day, so do Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur. Put Kuala Lumpur in the world map, and one day I wish I read in the newspaper ;
" Malaysia the Pearl of the East- Most visited country in the world "- New Straits Times
" Kuala Lumpur a role model for sustainable and responsible development "- United Nations
" Kuala Lumpur ranks No. 1 as the most livable city in the world "- NST
" Malaysia ranks No. 1 as country to live in "- Newsweek
" Malaysia is a model for OIC countries development "- AlJazeera International
" Malaysia is a model of the concept of prospering the neighbor "- World Bank
" Malaysia ranks No. 1 in attracting investment and doing business in the world "- CNN
" Malaysia is the centre of excellent in Islamic Banking and Finance "- The Star Malaysia
Incha Allah......one day !
DISCLAIMER: Notice :Opinions, stories , thoughts expressed are blogger's own and do not necessarily represent the views of the institution or the organizations by which the blogger is employed or any specific person who so ever, either dead or alive.
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