MP urges Melaka CM to clarify claims in Disneyland report

MELAKA: State officials should stop turning Melaka into a global laughing stock by claiming Disneyland is coming here, says Khoo Poay Tiong.

The incumbent Kota Melaka MP asked Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali to clarify a report that Disneyland and Disney City Theme Park would be developed in Jasin by 2027.

“Sulaiman should make a bold move to act against his official who issued the statement that is tantamount to churning out fake news.

“Local and even Singapore news portals have reported today the development as fake news by confirming the development with The Walt Disney Company in the United States. The matter had caused a huge embarrassment to Melaka,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Khoo said the state government should be more responsible when making statements on mega projects.

“You can’t simply hold a press conference and claim Superman and Ultraman are coming to Melaka.

“In a nutshell, we want to see what Sulaiman’s next action is as this is as a serious matter that had tarnished the reputation of the state,” he said.

On Tuesday, state tourism committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said that a Disneyland and Disney City Theme Park would be developed at a 80.9ha site in Jasin by 2027.

It is reportedly the first Disney theme park in South-east Asia after China, South Korea, Europe and Japan, and that its construction will cost about Rm2bil.

Khoo also commended the Melaka media corps for their reservation in reporting the news on the alleged development.

“You can’t get angry with the media when they are doubtful of certain preposterous projects, and refrain from asking questions during a press conference held at a hotel in Ayer Keroh,” he said.

On Tuesday, Melaka Media Practitioners Club (Pendika) president Amir Mamat expressed the association’s disappointment over a statement made by Muhammad Jailani in front of a group of South Korean investors and a local company.

Amir said it was disappointing to hear Muhammad Jailani telling one of the guests that “they (the local media) have a communication problem and can’t speak English fluently, and that while they can understand, they cannot converse”.

Amir said the exco member had said this when the media did not pose any question to the South Korean officials at the end of the press conference that was presided by Muhammad Jailani.

The journalists said they felt the event to announce the project came without “proper information and was not organised accordingly”.