Sorry, I am totally against any idea to issue free visa to tourists from China and India, the world's most populated countries.
The government, notably the Tourism Ministry must try weigh other options to lure the Chinese and Indians come to Malaysia. Although the visa is only about RM60 (chicken feed to the rich), we must be practical with such a proposal.
Please check our files; how many of them are overstaying in the country over the past 10 years. Many came on single entry visa (social visit) but stayed on as illegals, a few managed to get working visa while many were nabbed.
And how many China and Indian nationals were given PR and citizenship status over that period when thousands of other nationals' application was rejected for various reasons?
The government, notably the Tourism Ministry must try weigh other options to lure the Chinese and Indians come to Malaysia. Although the visa is only about RM60 (chicken feed to the rich), we must be practical with such a proposal.
Please check our files; how many of them are overstaying in the country over the past 10 years. Many came on single entry visa (social visit) but stayed on as illegals, a few managed to get working visa while many were nabbed.
And how many China and Indian nationals were given PR and citizenship status over that period when thousands of other nationals' application was rejected for various reasons?
MUMBAI: Malaysia plans to waive the visa fee for high-spending Indians as a strategy to hit the 29.4 million international tourist arrivals this year.Minister of Tourism and Culture Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz said Malaysia needs an additional two million visitors to reach the new record target.Mohamed Nazri added Indians have made Malaysia one of their favourite destinations in Asean, where 643,335 tourists arrived for the first 10 months (January-October) last year, which was a 20.7% growth.Last year about 1.4 million Indians visited Malaysia and splashed nearly RM1.8 billion between January and September in 2014, compared with RM1.3 billion during the corresponding period in 2013.India was the fifth largest source of tourists for Malaysia.Mohamed Nazri said that waiving the visa fee for Indian tourists was part of Malaysia's plans to target for 29.4 million arrivals from around the globe in 2015.He said currently an Indian traveller spends about RM350 to RM400 for visa fee and other related payments.The minister disclosed that an Indian tourist stays on average of 6.6 days in Malaysia and spends about RM2,900 during the entire visit."Indian tourists are big spenders especially when it comes to shopping, like the Chinese tourists."We at the ministry are strongly in favour of such a good gesture to be extended to our Indian guests as well," Mohamed Nazri told Bernama before launching the Myfest 2015 promotion campaign in Mumbai, India's financial capital, here yesterday.Countries like China, South Korea and Japan are already enjoying the no visa fee privilege.
Better if we improve our tourism packages for foreign tourists to enjoy and appreciate it rather than waiving the visa fee. And can't we waive it for other nationals?
With about 5 million foreigners in the country - 2 millions are believed to be illegal immigrants - we must take into account the country's security aspect before mooting such an idea. Not that we are prejudice about the two countries but we should be able to comprehend the consequences.
There's still a lot to do in enhancing our tourism image and product. We must not apply double standard in choosing the countries we want to be chummy. Diplomatically, its good but the long term impact on our socio-economic structure will take an adverse bash.
With about 5 million foreigners in the country - 2 millions are believed to be illegal immigrants - we must take into account the country's security aspect before mooting such an idea. Not that we are prejudice about the two countries but we should be able to comprehend the consequences.
There's still a lot to do in enhancing our tourism image and product. We must not apply double standard in choosing the countries we want to be chummy. Diplomatically, its good but the long term impact on our socio-economic structure will take an adverse bash.