Excerpt from TheStarOnline

Malaysians abroad urged to be tourism ambassadors

 

DUBAI: Malaysians abroad should play the role of tourism ambassadors in a bid to woo more foreign tourists to the country.
To this end, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said they should be aware of the country's tourism policies, products as well as the future direction of the industry.
"So wherever you are, please do your bit to promote Malaysia so that more tourists will visit our country," she told a gathering with Malaysians at a hotel here Tuesday night.
Present were Malaysian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Datuk Yahaya Abdul Jabar and consul-general in Dubai, Ahmad Fadil Shamsudin.
Dr Ng is leading the Malaysian delegation at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2011 being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre from Monday to Thursday.
A total of 87 government and private organisations from Malaysia are taking part in the event.
Dr Ng said Malaysia received 24.6 million tourists in 2010 and the country aimed to get 25 million tourist arrivals this year.
She said Tourism Malaysia offices were a good source for the latest on the country's tourism industry. - Bernama

p/s: Since this piece of information was released in Dubai, does it apply to citizens also living in other countries? I'm joking! Of course it would, regardless wherever you are, if you hold the passport of a certain country, you are an Ambassador of that country. Refer previous post. 

Politics for me?

Being in Malaysia -or being a Malaysian- politic is a normal topic of conversation. It is not as technical as we would like it to be, hence it is a topic that everyone would love to get involved. As for me, I would love to avoid it at my best way of dodging the harsh reality. I am an optimist so I have a rather positive way of seeing things that sometimes made me blind to the fact of the situation.
One of the book I read last year entitled In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki opened my eyes of the excepting the current condition of life. Although I can't quote the exact page or paragraph from the book, Tanizaki compared the way of the Japanese with the Westernized culture. It is intriguing to know that the Japanese or rather most of the Eastern culture will make the best of the current situation and be content with the surroundings. Whereas the Western cultures train us to improve things by adding more things or in this case, change where you can.

The moral of my thinking here is that although sometimes we wished that things could be better, there are some things that better to be left just as it is. I am scared that my hopes and efforts will evaporate into thin air, just like when someone crushes your dream. I'd rather leave the political sides of Malaysia to those who had it as their forte so I just stick to do what I was supposed to do.
However, I can't stop my wishful thinking because I know that one day when humans wake up from their sleep they will realize that it is already too late to change.