Dear traveller, would you please tell us why you are going abroad?

Wednesday, 09 Oct, 2007 0

KUALA LUMPUR – Out of Malaysia’s 26 million population at least 15 million travel to other countries every year, and this has set the Tourism Ministry wondering about Malaysians’ fascination with overseas destinations.

Malaysia Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said this was because the government did not require the travellers to fill out forms stating the reasons for their overseas trips before leaving the country.

“We know why people come in but we don’t know why they leave,” adding that the ministry might impose a procedure soon to get outbound travellers to fill out forms to better understand the reasons behind the exodus.

The proposal for Malaysians filling a departure card is not new as the Tourism Ministry first raised it in April.

Tengku Adnan had then stated the purpose of introducing the card was to find out whether Malaysians go abroad for travel, business, study, visit relatives or other reasons. “The number of Malaysians travelling abroad every year is high and we want to know why they like to go out of the country. If it is for travelling and tourism purposes, we hope to encourage them to participate in domestic tourism.”

The suggestion then had raised the ire of many Malaysians who wrote letters to the local dailies and in blogs that the proposed move was a violation of one’s privacy. They insisted what they did abroad was a private affair and of no concern to anyone as long as they did not break any laws or bring shame to the country.

The recent call again for the imposition of a departure card for outbound Malaysians may rekindle the debate of whether this is an infringement of one’s right to privacy or a move by the government to find out why Malaysians prefer to travel abroad when there are so many attractions within the county.

Corinne Wan

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