Mayor: MAHB aware of responsibility maintaining toilet cleanliness

KUCHING: Kuching South mayor Datuk Wee Hong Seng believes that Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) is aware of its responsibilities in maintaining the toilets at the Kuching International Airport (KIA).

“As a large organisation and a listed company, MAHB knows what to do when it comes to the cleanliness of KIA’s toilets. There is no need for Kuching South City Council (MBKS) to tell them what to do,” he said during his ‘Shall WEE Talk’ Facebook Live session yesterday.

The mayor said this in response to a netizen, who complained about the cleanliness of KIA’s toilets and pointed out that such issue, if left unattended, would not augur well for the state’s tourism industry.

Wee added: “Everyone plays a role in drawing visitors to Sarawak, as well as not losing repeat tourists.

“For instance, I observe that there are some taxi drivers who serve their customers better by helping them load their baggage, but there are also some who just wait in their vehicles for the customers to finish loading.

“We may lose repeat tourists if the latter example is the kind of service offered to our visitors.”

Responding to a call for more direct flights to Kuching, Wee said while this might be good for the tourism industry, he also acknowledged that airlines operated based on profits and thus, would prioritise the sustainability of a direct route.

“We need the passenger volume to ensure the sustainability of a direct route. Airlines operate to make profits, and a direct route would not be able to sustain if there’s no high passenger volume.

“It’s pointless to have direct routes for a couple of months and then, they get suspended. There must be a win-win situation for all.

“Anyway, we look forward to the Kuching-Nanjing and Kuching-Shanghai direct flights coming up in June this year,” he said.

On the proposed casino for the Borneo Highland Resort, Wee said this would serve its purpose if it could attract more tourists into the state.

He opined that Sarawak ought to look at whether this proposed casino could compete against the ones in Genting Highlands and Singapore.

“If it’s only to provide some entertainment for our locals, I personally do not see the need for this casino at Borneo Highland Resort.

“However, I am simply expressing my views as this is not within my jurisdiction.

“Borneo Highland, if well developed, has great potential to emerge as tourist attraction,” he added.