Hello, Tourism M’sia Cardiff calling

Three flags flutter in the breeze in a house near the entrance of the Cardiff City Stadium. One is the Welsh flag, the other of the city’s football team and the third, the Malaysian flag. Inside the stadium, the words "Visit Malaysia" with the flag have been permanently emblazoned on the top stands around the stadium. As the crowd streams in for the match, the Jalur Gemilang stands out in the corners alongside the Welsh Dragon and other club flags. At the nearby Sports Centre, an inter-university indoor football challenge is in its closing stages. A large group of Malaysian students converge to watch the finals. There are about 350 in the four universities in and around Cardiff. Many of them are wearing wind-cheaters with the words "Malaysian Students Society of Cardiff" on the back.

At the stadium, the man who greets us at the entrance to the directors’ box says: "You must be Malaysians!" "How do you know?" "Only the Malaysians have a smile for us. They are smiling all the time." Keith Cooper is the boardroom host and knowledgeable about football. After the introductions, he drops his first trivia: Name the six players who emerged from the academy to play for Barcelona and Arsenal. Only a walking encyclopaedia could provide the answers but Cooper knows his stuff. He should, because he had been a referee before retiring and taking on his present role.

Elsewhere, Taufiq Shamsuddin, who is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Cardiff, tells us more about the Cardiff-Malaysia connection. The people here, he says, have a special relationship with Malaysia and are thankful for the Malaysian involvement in the club. "They love Malaysians. The demand for Malaysian food has gone up and Malaysian restaurants are reporting increased business. Students are being asked about Malaysia and what they could see when they travel. They view Malaysians as the saviours who saved their club," he says.

The Cardiff City Football Club with a legacy which stretches back to over a century was on the verge of insolvency towards the middle of the previous season. The taxman was after them, creditors were queuing up and the receivers were planning to move in. If it had gone down, it would have meant untold misery and unhappiness for the city and its people, who take so much pride in their football team. The investments from Tan Sri Vincent Tan and Datuk Chan Tien Ghee saved the situation and the club went on to the play-off for promotion, only to lose to Blackpool. The promotion chase continues this season.

In November last year, the fans at the stadium saw yet another first – announcements before, during and after the game were made in English, Welsh and Bahasa Malaysia. A Malaysian mascot, five-year-old Nabil in his resplendent baju Melayu and songkok walked alongside Craig Bellamy, much to the delight of the fans. A 250-member contingent of Malaysian supporters was the most photographed group that day. Last Saturday’s game against Ipswich was telecast live by SkySports which meant an additional few million viewers and the cameras catching anything Malaysian on the sidelines. There were none, bare a Malaysian fan waving a flag whenever there was a good move.

The inevitable question to ask is: Why aren’t we exploiting this golden break to promote Malaysia and tourism? While the tsars sit in their cushy offices in faraway London (two hours by train) and rely on public relations consultants to do their work, opportunities like this are slipping away. They seem content paying fortunes to "ambassadors", whose duties and responsibilities have never been laid-out. We have gone from gardens to golf and from fishing to shoes, spending large sums of money without using Malaysian "connections" to achieve the goals. We are sure that both the club and Tourism Malaysia can work together so that everyone will benefit.

We are in agreement with the sports minister, who last week said that sports can promote tourism. However, it does not mean throwing millions into tennis tournaments with fading stars and have-beens. It has to be a well-coordinated and well-planned effort. We cannot get up one morning and declare: "We’ll have a celebrity golf tournament next month" and expect tourists to arrive by the planeloads.

All said, government agencies must take advantage of the commercial links of the private sector in its endeavour to promote the country and its products. Having a pasar malam in the hope that it would drive the demand for Malaysian products without first having adequate supplies and outlets which offer them for sale, is one of the many ways to spend taxpayers’ millions and making the whole campaign a disaster.
-thesun.