Caught in a predicament

IT WOULD not be wrong to suggest countries, which have been waiting for the Chinese tourists to arrive, are caught in a predicament.

No country would want to be seen as offending the powerful Chinese who spent US$255bil (RM1.12 trillion) a year in 2019, before Covid-19.

In 2019, Malaysia welcomed 3.11 million Chinese tourists who spent RM3.7bil.

It won’t be wrong to say that the entire world is waiting for the return of the China market.

For sure, Malaysia would not want to be accused of imposing discriminatory measures on Chinese arrivals.

Let’s not forget that China has been the number one trading partner of Malaysia for the last 13 consecutive years.

But Malaysia wants to be cautious. Rightly so, too. Many of us have just started to do away with face masks.

We are beginning to watch football matches in stadiums and attend concerts again.

It came as no surprise that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the tightening of the nation’s border security was to protect its people from Covid-19 and “will not discriminate against any particular country”.

The Prime Minister said every inbound traveller will be monitored, particularly those coming from countries with high infection rates including “China and the United States”.

He didn’t spell out what measures that the government intended to take.

Perhaps the Health Ministry is still assessing and looking at how the other Asean neighbours, which are eyeing the lucrative Chinese tourism markets, are handling the delicate situation.

A huge influx of tourists is expected after China lifted its travel restrictions on its citizens recently.

But Sabah - which enjoys its immigration autonomy - has ordered that visitors from China will have to provide a negative Covid-19 pre-departure test results before entering the state, effective Jan 1.

The precautions are understandable as it is meant to protect Malaysians but whether it is practical is being debated.

Many Malaysians travelling to London have been infected because the Brits do not wear face masks, not even on public transport, and they throw caution to the wind.

Some of my friends returning to Malaysia from Australia believe they caught Covid-19 during the flights.

The new variants of Covid-19 will travel in airports and planes, and it certainly does not choose the nationalities of the travellers.

Knee-jerk reactions, because of news reports, with re-instatement of measures would not really be effective except to provide some form of assurance to the people.

It really makes no difference putting up barriers in the way of travel, in dealing with continuous new variants.

Last week, the Australian media reported that the country’s decision to impose Covid checks on travellers from China was against the advice of its top health official, Prof Paul Kelly.

The health department, in an advisory on Dec 31, stated that Kelly ‘’did not believe that there is sufficient public health rationale’’ for any additional requirements, labelling any additional requirements for Chinese tourists “disproportionate to the risk”.

Its Health Minister Mark Butler reportedly avoided questions from the media, except to say the pre-flight checks were being imposed ‘’out of an abundance of caution”.

Kelly stated that ‘’the BF.7 Omicron sub-variant that appears to be a key driver to the outbreak in China has been present in Australia for some time”.

The BF.7 has also been reportedly detected in Malaysia since August and September last year in Selangor, Pahang and Melaka.

Universiti Sains Malaysia virologist Dr Kumita Theva Das told Free Malaysia Today that ‘’based on current evidence, there is no indication with BF.7 in comparison with other variants’’ and that even the World Health Organisation (WHO) did not place this Omicron sub-variant under monitoring.

What has caused uneasiness among many of us is the kind of frenzied anti-China news reporting by the Western media.

Of course, the sheer number of possible China tourists, following three years of travel bans, would worry us.

Then there is the abrupt reversal by China on its citizens after imposing a strict regime of lockdowns and relentless testing. For sure, it will not inspire confidence building.

Interestingly, the Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who has in the past been known for his shoot from the hip responses, has called for caution on comments regarding the impending arrival of Chinese tourists, a major source of income.

In a Facebook post, he advised Malaysians not to make unfriendly comments before “you know the full picture’’ and ‘’don’t create the impression that we don’t welcome tourists from China”.

Let’s rely on sound advice from health experts, and not just impose populist political decisions.

For now, we have handled the situation well. Let’s continue to do so with updates for the public to understand better and be reassured that our interests are protected - and not lose our competitiveness at the same time.