Conservative Malaysian party aims to ban vices during tourist influx

Malaysian conservatives aim to stamp out booze, bikinis and gambling during the influx of tourists. This comes off the back of an Islamist coalition, PAS, winning big in Malaysia’s recent general election. Winning 43 seats in the state of Kedah, where conservative views have increasingly spread, gambling has now been banned. 

Moving forward, SCMP reported that chief minister Sanusi Md Nor said that Kedah’s government would next aim to reduce the sale of alcohol in Langkawi, which is a popular and tax-free holiday destination.

Reported by Channel NewsAsia last November, Langkawi has already been struggling to bring in tourists due to the pandemic, which means that the aforementioned restrictive measures stand to deter potential tourists in the coming future. 

Some say this might be a threat to Langkawi's local economy considering it relies heavily on domestic tourism revenue.PAS had also expressed its interest in turning Langkawi into an Islamic tourist destination.

According to SCMP’s reports, Sanusi said that he hopes that there will not be any open sale of alcohol and will be limited to non-Muslims only. “While I have power, I better use, if things are bad for people, we best avoid,” he said, stating his fear of being judged by the divine if he allowed for such vices to exist in spite of his power to ban them. 

Related articles:
Tourism Minister reminds social media users to exercise caution when commenting on China tourist arrivals
Tourism Malaysia and Indonesian eCommerce platform Blibli partner for tourism recovery