Air Asia Crash: More Damage Control Needed

KOTA KINABALU - More damage control is urgently needed if Sabah were to mitigate losses caused by the tragic air crash of Air Asia flight QZ8501, says Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee. "It does not matter that the ill fated air craft was flying from Indonesia to Singapore and that flight QZ8501 was an Air Asia Indonesian, not Malaysian, operation as claimed by Sabah tourism minister Datuk Masidi Manjun, in news reports today."

"The Air Asia brand is known globally to be a Malaysian success story which we cannot conveniently disown now that there has been an air crash. In the aftermath of the air crash, the most recognisable face in the international media is that of a Malaysian, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, the Air Asia CEO who is showing exemplary leadership on behalf of Air Asia.

"Therefore, the sooner our government wakes up to the stark reality of the collateral damage to Sabah's travel and tourism sector, the better it is for the Sabah economy because Air Asia is the main carrier of tourists to Sabah, especially from China.

"As a matter of fact, tourist cancellations (to Sabah) have started coming in as early as Monday, the day after last Sunday's Air Asia crash. It is to be expected that more cancellations are on the way. China tourists also tend to be more easily spooked compared to other nationalities like Westerners.

"In order to recapture the China market, a confidence building measure is the setting up of the long overdue China consulate and a branch of the Bank of China in Kota Kinabalu. It has been almost one and half year when China President Xi Jin Ping announced a China consulate for Sabah during his visit to Malaysia in October 2013 but nothing have been heard about the consulate ever since. Malaysia should also open up our skies to other airlines to bring in more visitors as travel and tourism is a fast growing sector that provides quality employment for local Sabahans," Yong said.