00:00A Kadah Exco has pushed back against DAP's Teresa Koch over Langkawi's lagging visitor numbers,
00:08insisting that the federal government controls most of the factors shaping the island's tourism performance.
00:15Saleh Saedin, who chairs the State Tourism, Culture and Entrepreneurship Committee,
00:20was responding to Koch's comparison of Langkawi's 3.2 million visitors in 2025,
00:25with Phuket's estimated 13 million and Bali's 33.56 million.
00:31The Sepute MP said Langkawi was falling behind regional competitors,
00:36noting that Bali's tourist arrivals increased by 17.16 million from 2024 to 2025,
00:42while Phuket saw a rise of 4.35 million.
00:46Saleh said the comparison was simplistic, structurally unfair and intellectually dishonest,
00:52arguing that Bali and Phuket had been developed as major tourism destinations for decades
00:57with central government backing and extensive international air connectivity.
01:03He said Langkawi operates in an entirely different ecosystem,
01:07with a smaller scale, lower capacity and a much higher dependence on federal-level policies.
01:13Saleh said the Kadah government had done everything within its jurisdiction
01:17to promote Langkawi as a tourism destination.
01:19He also singled out Langkawi's long-running ferry service problems
01:24as one of the island's biggest barriers to tourism growth.
01:28Ferry operations and other matters such as flight approvals,
01:32airport expansion, international route incentives,
01:35customs and taxes, cruise tourism, visa policies
01:38and international promotional campaigns fall under federal jurisdiction, he added.
01:44Natasha Bust, FMT
01:46Have a wonderful day.
01:48Hey,
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