Miss Great Britain 2017 can help promote Melaka in Europe, says CM

MELAKA: Miss Great Britain 2017 Saffron Hart (pic) can play an important role to promote Melaka in Europe as a Tourism Am­­bass­ador, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

Idris, who is also in charge of the state tourism portfolio, said the alleged bungle in the Miss World Tourism pageant last month could be a “blessing in disguise” for the state to lure Europeans to the state.

“Let us forget the episode and now focus on bringing in tourists from all over the world.

“I am happy to hear that Miss Great Britain is willing to meet me and spearhead my objective to make Melaka the number one tourist destination in Asia,” he said yesterday.

Idris said it was the state government’s intention to make Melaka a haven for tourism and also foreign direct investments (FDIs).

“My team is working hard and we are gradually achieving the desired results with close to RM22bil FDIs for the past four years,” he said.

Idris had earlier criticised the unprofessional hosting of the event and invited Hart to be crowned Melaka’s Tourism Ambassador to Europe.

In a message, Hart expressed her support for Melaka and the people.

“It’s a country that needs to be visited more. I love Melaka and Malaysian people,” said the 27-year-old from Hull, England.

She said she was touched by Idris’ gesture in reaching out to her to rectify the issue.

“I appreciate him for mending something that’s not his or the state government’s fault. I would be honoured to talk to him about the proposal,” she said.

Hart’s ordeal over the alleged unprofessional hosting of the Miss Tourism World 2018 pageant was highlighted by Britain’s Daily Mail on Feb 10.

She claimed that she was selected as one of five contestants to vie for the top prize at the Jan 27 finals but she and three other finalists were then disqualified due to a technical hitch that led to the finals being scrapped and restarted.

The organiser hosted the event privately and had nothing to do with the state government.