Travel: National icons (Malaysia Icons)

With Merdeka Day just days away, the Travel team picks out the iconic places and faces that have put Malaysia on the world tourism map.

REMEMBER those days when foreigners would put on a puzzled look when we told them we were from Malaysia? And our reply would be, “Err, the country below Thailand and above Singapore”? Well, things have changed since then. Many foreigners now go: “Malaysia? Mahathir?” “Mahathir”, mentioned in any accent, is always followed with admiration. That’s how impactful our former prime minister is even till today, though Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has left the premier’s office for almost a decade. The mere mention of his name makes the instant link to Malaysia. Likewise, the mention of Petronas Twin Towers and squash ace Datuk Nicol David.

These names have become iconic of Malaysia and have indirectly promoted the country as a tourist destination.  But such recognition for the country didn’t come overnight. It has taken years, since the nation achieved independence in 1957, before our country is finally bookmarked as one of today’s preferred destinations in the region.

As the country celebrates its 54th Merdeka anniversary next week, here’s a snapshot of the places and faces that have become its icons.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

HE’S taken on many roles, but he has never been tourism ambassador. But thanks to him, we no longer need to explain where Malaysia is. Also thanks to his vision, the country’s tourist arrivals have been going strong since he took the premier’s office — an effect, directly or indirectly, spurred by him.

As premier, he was credited with engineering the country’s rapid modernisation and economic growth which created a boom in the tourism industry. Some of Kuala Lumpur’s most iconic landmarks — KL International Airport, Sepang International Circuit and the most famous of all, Petronas Twin Towers, the world’s tallest building (until 2004) — were built during his premiership.

Not only that, he is also behind the rise of Langkawi and Labuan, both duty-free zones. Langkawi has since become one of the world’s preferred island destinations, and Labuan, a haven for business travellers. Fittingly, Dr Mahathir was recently presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at KL Mayor’s Tourism Awards 2011 for his contributions to local tourism.

Petronas Twin Towers (KLCC)

NO visit to the country is complete without a trip to the 88-floor Petronas Twin Towers in KL’s central business district. The towers have been featured in many international productions, including the 1999 Hollywood movie Entrapment, a slew of Bollywood movies and a National 
Geographic documentary.

The buildings, designed by Argentine architect César Pelli and Filipino-Malaysian engineer-deejay Cerico, were completed in 1998 after seven years, and had enjoyed the distinction as the tallest buildings in the world for six years, until Taipei 101 wrested that title in 2004.

Unesco heritage sites

THE country has three heritage sites: Gunung Mulu National Park (Sarawak), Mount Kinabalu (Sabah), and the latest addition, the historic cities of Strait of Malacca, Malacca and George Town (Penang). The first two fall under the natural category (both entered the list in 2000), while the third, the cultural category (2008).

Former busy trading ports, Malacca and George Town have a unique townscape with buildings that reflect the cultural and architectural details of the past. Great street food and shopping within their quaint streets add to their appeal. 

The 52,864ha Gunung Mulu National Park is the most studied tropical karst area in the world. It is also home to the world’s largest known cave chamber, Sarawak Chamber, as well as 3,500 species of vascular plants and 109 palm species.

The country’s first Unesco heritage site, Kinabalu Park, is the habitat of a majority of Borneo’s mammals, birds, amphibians and invertebrates (many threatened and vulnerable). It is also a centre of plant diversity, from the rare Rafflesia and pitcher plants to orchids and ferns.

Rainforest World Music Festival

WHO would have thought that our very own music festival would gain a large following overseas? Every year, thousands throng the Rainforest World Music Festival in Kuching, Sarawak, to celebrate the diversity of world music.

The three-day festival brings together musicians not only from around the country, but also from the rest of the world, showcasing traditional and fusion, contemporary music. It has garnered international kudos, including a listing as one of the 25 Best International Festivals last year by Songlines Magazine, UK.

Dive havens, Sipadan and Redang

SIPADAN, in the Celebes Sea off the east coast of Sabah, and Redang, 45km off the shore of Terengganu, have earned global recognition as dive spots of exceptional beauty. With waters teeming with over 3,000 fish species and hundreds of coral species, their alluring underwater worlds continue to beguile divers from all over the world.

Sipadan’s bountiful marine life has been feted by legendary French underwater world expert Jacques Cousteau, while Redang’s World War II shipwrecks The H.M.S Prince Of Wales and The H.M.S Repulse give photographers and divers a thrilling underwater adventure.

The country also offers a few other equally gorgeous islands along the east coast of the peninsula as well as small isles around Sipadan. In fact, before Sipadan and Redang reaped international fame, Tioman, off the coast of Pahang, was hailed as one the world’s 10 most beautiful islands.

Datuk Nicol David

SHE’S the first Asian to hold the world No. 1 ranking in women’s squash. The Penangite, who turns 28 in three days, has won the British Open three times and the World Open five times in the last six years. 

Other notable achievements include winning the Asian Games singles title in 1998, 2006 and 2010 as well as the World Games singles title in 2005 and 2009. Recently, she added the Australian Open crown to her list.

That’s not all. The petite player is the first recipient of the Order Of Merit (Darjah Bakti) award from the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. The award, established on June 26, 1975, is limited to only 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and humanities. 

Lat, the Kampung Boy

DATUK Mohammad Nor Khalid, more famously known as Lat, brings his adventures of growing up in rural Perak to life through his popular cartoon, The Kampung Boy. It tells of his adventures in the jungles and tin mines, his circumcision, family and school life. Within the first four months of its first print in 1979 by Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd, The Kampung Boy was deemed a commercial and critical success as all its 60,000 copies were sold out. 

Narrated in English with a smattering of Malay, the work has been translated into over 60 languages, including Japanese and French, and sold abroad. The book made Lat an international figure and is highly regarded by foreign cartoonists such as Matt Groening and Sergio Aragonés. 

The Kampung Boy has won a few awards, including Outstanding International Book 2007 and the Children’s Book Council and Booklist Editor’s Choice 2006 in the US. It is also popular in Southeast Asia and has gone through 16 reprints. Other Lat cartoon series and animated versions have also been well-received.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes

HE has created a storm, no, a tornado, with the Now Everyone Can Fly slogan. Now, with his company AirAsia’s stake in national carrier Malaysia Airlines, the sky is no longer the limit for Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes. He flew out of anonymity, thanks to his key role in getting AirAsia off the ground a decade ago. 

On top of his aviation business, he is involved in the hotel, financial services, insurance, telecommunications and media and creative industries through the Tune Group. The 47-year-old is also owner of Team Lotus and Asean Basketball League through Tune Sport. 

In addition to being awarded the title Tan Sri this year, Fernandes received the Commander of the Order of the British Empire award, which recognises services to promote commercial and educational links between Malaysia and the UK. He also received the Officer of the Legion d’ Honneu’ by the French government in April last year.

Royal Selangor

ITS name has graced Formula One Grand Prix races and Shanghai ATP 1000 Masters and it has worked with Moet Hennessy to develop champagne accoutrements. It has also stamped its mark in the world’s pewter industry with its special collections by world-renowned designers Erik Magnussen (Denmark) and Freeman Lau (Hong Kong).

While Royal Selangor brings in tourists through its one-of-a-kind educational tour of its manufacturing site in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, its brand sells Malaysia to the world in many international stores. Its exquisite pewter products can be found on the shelves of Harrods and Selfridges in London, Illums Bolighus in Copenhagen, and Wako and Mitsukoshi in Japan, to name a few. At home, there are about 30 showrooms around the country.

In the mid-1970s, when Royal Selangor was known as Selangor Pewter, it gave the then Sultan of Selangor a pleasant surprise during his tour of Australia. He discovered that the word “Selangor” was not an unfamiliar name Down Under, thanks to the pewter brand. A few years later, he granted a royal warrant to the company, and in 1992 the company became known as Royal Selangor.

Mount Kinabalu

IT’S the highest peak in Southeast Asia, but more importantly, it has become a brand to represent Malaysia, if not Sabah. Its Low’s Peak, red-earth trails flanked by bonsai, and the bright-coloured Laban Rata guesthouse are so iconic that one doesn’t even need to label Mount Kinabalu.Scaling the jagged Kinabalu peak is a conquest many climbers are proud of. It’s placed among the top peaks to climb in this region.

Stay overnight at Laban Rata — the final pit-stop before reaching the peak — and one will see a fair mix of local and foreign climbers. Every year, 100,000 climbers from the world over make the hike. That figure does not include visitors to Kinabalu Park and the garden located at the base of the mountain.

Now also holding the record for the world’s highest and Asia’s first Via Ferrata by Guinness Book Of World Records, Mount Kinabalu places Malaysia at the top of the list of places to go for high adventure.

-NST Online.

photo: pelancongan kini