Rabu, September 19, 2012

KOREAN TOUR GUIDES ENCROACHING INTO OUR TERRITORY – SAPP

Korean tour guides encroaching into our territory – SAPP

KOTA KINABALU September 19, 2012: The shortage of foreign speaking tour guides can be addressed through positive measures such as training local guides in foreign languages, Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) deputy president Datuk Eric Majimbun, said.

This is the short-term measure and for the long term, the federal government through the relevant ministries like the human resource development and the tourism ministries should consider setting up institutions where locals could learn foreign languages, he added.

The Sepanggar member of parliament said this in response to the Tourism Ministry’s decision to allow Koreans to take up the localized tour guide course in Sabah.

Tourism Minister Datuk Ng Yen Yen had defended the decision and said it was done because there was a shortage of Korean speaking guides in Sabah which was fast becoming a popular holiday destination for Koreans.

She added that the Korean government had through its Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, made a request to have more Korean speaking guides in Sabah and that allowing Koreans to be trained as tour guides was just a temporary measure until the Sabah Tour Guides Association (STGA) could increase the number of its Korean speaking guides.

Eric was of the opinion that the decision was an insult to the tour guiding fraternity in Sabah.

“If this is a temporary measure, then how long will these Korean guides’ work permits and guiding licences be valid?” he said.

Eric also echoed STGA’s worries about the temporary Korean guides’ knowledge about Sabah’s culture and tradition as well as what they would be telling their fellow citizens in their commentary.

“Who will be monitoring what they are saying? How are we to know if their facts and information are accurate? We do not want the wrong information about our beloved state be told to tourists,” he stressed.

To him, the decision was akin to the act of an intruder encroaching into another person’s territory.

“The intruder is suppressing the rice bowl of our local entrepreneurs and therefore the decision must be rescinded. Also the local tourism authorities must support and prioritize Sabahans so that they do not end up being marginalized by those who are only interested in making a profit,” he said.

Another SAPP leader, Datuk Richard Yong, said the reasons provided by Ng to justify her ministry’s decision to localize the Korean tourist guides is absurd.

He said the ministry’s responsibility is to help boost the growth of tourism industry as a whole without compromising the interest of the local tourism industry.

Localizing the Korean tourist guides is directly taking over the role of the local tourist guides equivalent of taking over their rice bowl, he pointed out in a statement yesterday.

“I have not seen any country doing such thing that could hurt their own tourism industry. You always get to have a local tourist guide to accompany the tourist group when you take a tour in foreign country.

“In Sabah’s case the local tourist guides will be taken over by the Korean guides because they have got the local licence to guide,” added Yong.

He said the minister had overlooked the interest of Sabah tourism and had failed to see the difficulties and problems faced by the local tourist guides in terms of income and opportunities.

“It is very disappointing that the Sabah Ministry of Tourism has not spoken up for our local tourists guides who are actually the lifeline of the tourist industry in Sabah.

“The Federal Tourism Ministry must re-consider their decision by looking at the larger interest, help the local tourists guides instead of looking for short-cut solution to the Korean guide shortage problem. The ministry’s decision could be sending wrong signals to the foreign tour companies. Once they start doing the same could lead to the demise of the local tourism industry,” said Yong.

25 ulasan:

  1. Pelbagai bantahan mula kedengaran mengenai cadangan mengambil pekerja dari Korea sebagai pemandu pelancong ini.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. yang membantah tu cubalah bagi idea, cadangan yang lebih baik.

      Padam
    2. pengambilan pemandu pelancong korea hnya sementara.

      Padam
    3. Harus buka cadangan agar dapat mengesan cara penyelesaian yang lebih berkesan.

      Padam
  2. Perlukah juga perkara ini dilakukan untuk memastikan masalah pemandu pelancong yang kurang di Negara kita ini. Mungkin ada cara lain yang dapat dilakukan untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini.

    BalasPadam
  3. Mungkin juga kalau kita ambil pemandu pelancong dari luar mereka tidak mengenali apa yang ada sebenarnya di Negara kita ini. Maka untuk mempromosikan sesuatu itu akan menurun. Kerana kurang pengetahuan mengenainya.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. sebab itulah pemandu pelancong tempatan perlu menambahkan lagi pengetahuan mereka agar dapat bersaing dengan orang luar. sememangnya pemandu pelancong tempatan lebih mempunyai kelebihan mengenai selok belok negeri/negara.

      Padam
    2. penguasaan bahasa asing amat perlu.

      Padam
  4. There's a demand for tourist guides who can speak Korean

    BalasPadam
  5. Tourist guides in Sabah need to take up the challenge to have more Korean-speaking tour guides.In this way, they will not have to worry about Koreans taking over their livelihood.

    BalasPadam
  6. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said local tourist guides needed to look at the issue objectively rather than emotionally when addressing the problem.

    BalasPadam
  7. He was referring to the decision of the Tourism Ministry to allow Koreans to be employed as tour guides in Sabah as a temporary measure in view of the shortage of guides here who could speak the language.

    BalasPadam
  8. However, Masidi said they would meet up with their federal counterparts to have further discussions on the conditions."It's not about marginalising the local people. But the local people must take up the challenge as we can't stop the business from growing just because we don't have locals who can speak Korean.

    BalasPadam
  9. The tourist guides need to learn more foreign languagues in order to become efficient in this industry.

    BalasPadam
  10. Is it advisable to hire workers from Korea as tourist guides?

    BalasPadam
  11. I believe we have those who are capable of being tourist guides for the Korean tourists.

    BalasPadam
  12. Please enhance the knowlegde of our local guides in Sabah.

    BalasPadam
  13. Provide them more advantages than ever.

    BalasPadam
  14. Pengambilan pemandu asing ada juga masalah sebab golongan ini tidak tahu sangat tentang negera kami, tidak mungkin juga boleh mempromosikan.

    BalasPadam
  15. “In Sabah’s case the local tourist guides will be taken over by the Korean guides because they have got the local licence to guide,”

    Keutamaan harus diberi kepada pemandu tempatan agar golongan ini dapat teruskan berkhidmat, cuam latihan naik taraf harus diberi.

    BalasPadam
  16. Latihan harus diberi dan pemandu tempatan juga harus bersedia dengan ciri-ciri boleh berkhidmat sebaik-baiknya untuk pelancong.

    BalasPadam
  17. Semoga kerajaan menjaga juga pemandu tempatan.

    BalasPadam
  18. tindakan itu diambil atas sebab kelemahan pemandu pelancong tempatan juga, bukan dibuat secara suka2 oleh menteri pelancongan..

    BalasPadam
  19. SAPP tidak perlu masuk campur dalam hal2 kerajaan kerana mereka juga telah gagal meningkatkan jumlah pelancong ke negeri ini ketika YTL masih menduduki kerusi KM Sabah..

    BalasPadam
  20. Masidi akan berbincang dengan pihak tertentu sebelum secara rasmi mengumumkan keputusan mereka

    BalasPadam