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KARACHI, July 17: Malaysian Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Dato Paduka Abdul Kadir Bin Haji Sheikh Fadzir said on Thursday that his country and Pakistan were united by a centuries-old bond of shared history, culture, beliefs and values.
“We have a lot of things in common. Let us start working together from the tourism sector to achieve better results,” he told representatives of the travel industry and media in a local hotel.
Dato Kadir is on a week-long tour to Pakistan to promote tourism to his country.
Flanked by Malaysian Airlines Vice-President Dato Rashid Khan and Immigration Deputy Director-General Dato Abdullah Sami, the minister said Pakistan, like his country, had a rich heritage and natural beauty in the Northren Areas. “Pakistan has a great potential for tourists from Malaysia,” he said.
He said Malaysia was a wonderful blend of the traditional and the modern with large, sprawling urban metropolises nestled in lush, fertile countryside. It was a showcase of natural as well as cultural diversity, which offered all types of leisure activities for tourists from jungle trekking and mountain climbing to white water rafting, scuba-diving and cave exploration, he said.
Replying to questions, he said a proposal of setting up Malaysia’s consulate and offices of its immigration department and board of tourism here was under consideration to facilitate visitors in getting visas.
He said proposals to grant visa on arrival to anyone having a visa of Thailand or Singapore and expatriate Pakistanis was under consideration.
The minister said the financial crisis of 1997 was an outcome of speculators’ business and his government had turned down the International Monetary Fund’s offer of assistance.
He said Malaysia had decided to meet the challenge using its own reserves and exploring unconventional options, including the promotion of tourism.
He said: “We decided to expand the base of our economy and went all out to promote tourism within the country and attract people from abroad.”
“Today, Malaysia is among the countries with the highest per capita income. It is the leading exporter of microchips, airconditioners and refrigerators.
“The policy resulted in increasing the number of tourists to Malaysia from 5.5 million to 13.5 million last year. But the share of visitors from Pakistan was only 4,000 despite our historical and brotherly ties,” he said.
Quoting Malaysian statesman Tenku Abdul Rehman, Dato Kadir said Islam was a religion of peace, science and technology.
Replying to a question about the law and order situation in Karachi, he said that in a city of 13 million incidents of violence here and there were of no significance.
The minister hosted a ‘Malaysia truly Asia’ evening through video presentation and colourful cultural performance by his country’s artistes, who presented traditional and folk dances of various communities.
