Interview with YB Arifin bin Deraman Terengganu State Executive Councillor for Tourism and Culture

Gaya Travel team sits down with Terengganu State ExCo for Tourism and Culture The Honourable (YB) Ariffin bin Deraman for an update on the state’s plan to revive the tourism industry.

The importance of tourism to Terengganu

“The Terengganu state government’s main concern is the people’s happiness and livelihood, and that is why raising the economic standard of the rakyat (citizens of Terengganu) is one of the state government’s priorities. Tourism has always been vital to Terengganu’s economy because it is one of the means for the people to gain income,” says YB Ariffin, kickstarting the interview.

During the movement restrictions imposed back in May 2021 to stop the spread of COVID-19, many businesses that depend on travel and tourism were negatively affected. When travel within the state was made possible, these businesses began receiving intra-state patrons, though not as many as when interstate travel was eventually allowed beginning 11 October 2021.

Since Terengganu is now open to travellers from outside the state, these businesses, including the tourist attractions like Pantai Batu Buruk, which is close to the Terengganu Drawbridge, are starting to pick up again. “When the state’s tourism reopens, many enterprises, for example those in Pasar Payang, stand to benefit. These places are now receiving large crowds, bringing in the much-needed revenue to the local enterprises,” observes YB Ariffin.

“Compared to other industries, tourism brings in more direct returns, especially when it comes to local employment. Though we do not have the exact figures, we can clearly see that the number of businesses and people employed increase as tourism expands. That is why tourism is crucial for Terengganu,” he reiterates.

Terengganu’s main economic sector is oil and gas, while tourism is the second. However, the number of locals employed in oil and gas is not as large and only limited to certain areas like Kerteh, Paka, and Kemasik; this sector is highly concentrated in the districts of Dungun and Kemaman, hence not extensive. In comparison, tourism is more extensive because tourism attractions can readily be found throughout the state, from the north-most district of Besut down to the south-most district of Kemaman. For instance, Perhentian island belongs to Besut district; Kuala Terengganu itself is a major tourism cluster that includes the drawbridge, Pasar Payang and Pantai Batu Buruk; Tasik Kenyir in Hulu Terengganu; and Kemaman is replete with businesses producing local gastronomic delights like sata and keropok, including turtle sanctuary in Pantai Teluk Mak Nik.

Effects from MCO

The movement control order (MCO) imposed by the Malaysian government in 2020 and 2021 – which restricted both interstate and intra-state travel to contain the spread of COVID-19 – brought about immense negative impact not only to the tourism industry players in Terengganu but nationwide. Because Malaysians were cooped up at home since March 2020, tourism activities notably spiked right after interstate travel was first permitted back in June 2020, resulting in unusually high traffic into Terengganu in July, August and September, before the number of COVID-19 cases in Malaysia began climbing again. “In 2021, tourism activities reopen at a much slower rate because the number of cases remain high, unlike the previous year. Nonetheless, I am positive that tourism is bound to pick up beginning late October and early November, particularly during weekends. I recently went to Pengkalan Gawi jetty close to the Kenyir Elephant Conservation Village to explore Kenyir by boat, but forced to turn around because the place was too packed with visitors, who were lured to the destination due to the state’s promotional efforts, besides not been able to go out of their houses for some time. Visitors to Kenyir can do a day trip around the lake by speedboat or stay overnight in a houseboat, or even do some shopping at several duty-free outlets,” YB Ariffin explains.

It is heartening to see that the number of tourist arrivals to various Terengganu attractions remains high. “When I asked the tour operators in Merang jetty, they confessed that business is brisk, especially in the weekends, even though they have been relying only on tourists from within Terengganu (before interstate travel is allowed). The tourists are there, either for a day trip or overnight stay at any of the lodgings on the island, to take advantage of the relatively calmer waters before the arrival of Peninsular Malaysia East Coast monsoon season at the end and beginning of the calendar year. I am sure that once interstate travel commences, the number of tourist arrivals to Terengganu will shoot through the roof,” he beams.

Helping tourism back on its feet

When Terengganu was reeling from the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 restrictions, the state government took advantage by using the downtime to re-evaluate its tourism products and strategies. At the same time, the business owners made use of the time to upgrade their product offerings; recently, the popular eatery Nasi Dagang Atas Tol proposed the opening of a new dining venue to the state government on any suitable site owned by the state as a way for both business and state to raise income.

Conversely, whenever the tourism industry faces difficulty, the Terengganu state government offers assistance to them. For example, the state worked together with 12 selected hotels in Terengganu by converting them into quarantine centres for the oil and gas industry employees so that these hotels can continue generating income during the pandemic. “We met up with the representatives from Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) and requested them to provide food and beverages – paid by the Terengganu State Tourism Department – to the Vaccination Administration Centres,” YB Ariffin recalls.

He further mentions that the state government empowers community-based tourism (CBT) by providing funding totalling MYR800,000 to around 50 CBT projects throughout Terengganu, each receiving between RM10,000 to RM 30,000 for upgrading their venues via gotong royong (communal work) as preparation to receive the tourists, who possess diverse interests.

“For instance, some tourists prefer motorcross, while others are into kayaking and mountain-climbing. As a matter of fact, Terengganu has many mountains that are yet to be explored that are bound to amaze hikers. The state government continues to upgrade and promote the attractions despite constraints, for instance Kampung Budaya Terengganu, which reopened only on 3 October 2021. We constantly search for new tourism products, besides preserving, conserving and promoting the existing ones,” he elaborates.

Allocating money for tourism

In the state budget for 2022, Terengganu state government intends to allocate more budget for tourism in each district. “We plan at the state level, then we go down to each district to understand its strengths and uniqueness when it comes to tourism offerings, including what tourism infrastructure “The allocation for tourism might be among the highest for the state, approximately 3% of the budget, due to its contribution to the economy. Though quantifying the direct returns from tourism can be tricky, this sector remains crucial because it is the rakyat who stand to directly gain from it in the form of employment or retail. At the same time, the state need not be weighed down by issues concerning unemployment since many can easily find employment or do business in this sector,” he adds.

Since last year, the state government has been able to collect fees and levies. YB Ariffin notes that in Besut, for example, Jabatan Laut used to be the only party that collected revenue from travellers who use the jetty in Kuala Besut to get to Perhentian Island. Nowadays, Besut District Council imposes fees for jetty usage too, while those who head to Kapas Island need to pay small fee to the local authority so that the proceeds can help to fund the local authority’s operations.

Generally, whenever a local authority in Terengganu faces problems in funding its operations, the state government shall step in to cover the relevant costs like employee salaries. However, if the local authority were able to source its own funds, the revenue collected by the local authority is deemed as indirect revenue to the state, hence can be used for operations as well.

Monitoring compliance to SOPs

Since Malaysia is not yet entirely out of the COVID-19 woods, Terengganu state government appeals to all tourists to abide by the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and health protocols issued by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health when coming to Terengganu to enjoy its delights.

“Terengganu is ‘Reopening Safely’ as Malaysia is approaching COVID-19 endemicity. Over 90% of adults in Terengganu are already fully vaccinated, and now we are embarking on vaccinating school-going children, beginning with Forms 4 and 5, to be followed by Forms 1 until 3. Tourists are therefore recommended to continue to stick to the SOPs, wear masks in public and follow the health protocols required by the Malaysian government,” urges YB Ariffin.

Moreover, even though the islands like Redang, Perhentian and Kapas are far from the mainland and dense population settlements, these islands are home to villages inhabited by locals, therefore the state government advises the tourism business operators to get their patrons tested for COVID-19 to ensure that they are negative whenever they go to these islands for diving or snorkelling, similar to what was carried out in Langkawi during the travel bubble period. “We do not want to hear frets from locals saying that the tourists are the cause of rising COVID-19 cases in Terengganu,” he cautions.

On the same note, the tour operators are required to control the crowds coming to the islands by ensuring the boats that bring in tourists are capped at 50% capacity, whilke making sure that the jetties are not overcrowding. On top of that, wearing life jackets on the boats are made mandatory, no matter how long the rides take.

Uniqueness of Terengganu

YB Ariffin sees that the islands off-coast Terengganu are the state’s main tourism attraction. “Terengganu has 13 islands, of which six of them are the most strategic, surrounded by clear waters. In Peninsular Malaysia, Terengganu has the most islands. Besides, Terengganu is popular for its beautiful beaches since the state has 244 kilometres of coastline, the longest in Peninsular Malaysia. The white sandy beaches in Terengganu have different characteristics than those found along the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia, which tend to be muddier. That is why at times you might bump into film production teams do their recording along the beaches in Terengganu such as Kemasik and Jambu Bongkok. Other notable beaches are Rhu Sepuluh, Bukit Keluang and Kuala Kemaman. As such, the state government provides just enough touches on those locations so as not to compromise on their natural beauty.

Terengganu is blessed with other unique tourism products too. As travellers venture further inland, they should head to the breathtaking Chemerong Waterfall. To access the site, travellers need to make reservation and apply permits since the local authorities have capped the number of people who can hike up to the waterfall at only 60 in one day; some travellers need to wait up to one year for their turn to visit the site, yet they are willing to do so. Travellers should take the opportunity to explore Terengganu’s rural areas using allterrain vehicles (ATVs), which offer extraordinary experience.

To expand the state’s offerings, Terengganu is tapping into sub-sectors such as sports tourism, whereby the state government works with Terengganu Cycling Team (TSG) and Terengganu Football Club (TFC) to attract sports enthusiasts to Terengganu, especially when TSG is one of Malaysia’s best teams. The state is also gearing up for medical tourism by collaborating with private hospitals and medical facilities based in Terengganu like Kuala Terengganu Specialist (KTS) Hospital and Salam Specialist Hospital so that tourists can come over for their medical check-ups and treatments while vacationing. As a matter of fact, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UNISZA) in Kuala Terengganu is in the midst of opening its own cardiac and vascular hospital in the near future, which can attract patients from out of state.

Culinary is another tourism draw. When it comes to food, YB Ariffin understands that it all boils down to individual taste, hence people would already have their own preferences regarding which place serves the best kind of dish. For instance, those who love nasi dagang tend to seek the dish at their own favourite eatery like Nasi Dagang Atas Tol, while others prefer Nasi Dagang Surau Panjang or Nasi Dagang Gong Pipit. Another delicacy that travellers should savour is keropok keping (fish fritter) and one of the suggested places for them to buy it is in Kampung Pengkalan Setar in Kuala Terengganu, home to nearly 100 keropok keping producers and popular among locals. What makes the fritters produced in Kampung Pengakalan Setar special is because they contain more fish compared to those produced elsewhere, giving them more distinct in flavour. Travellers should attempt at eating boiled fritters as well, which might come as unusual at first, but no less tasty. Other places where travellers can find keropok are Losong, Seberang Takir and 008 Kelulut in Marang. Due to Terengganu’s lengthy coastline, many dishes in Terengganu are based on fish, for example sata. In the agricultural areas, travellers should seek out traditional dishes like lok lik, made from newly harvested normal or glutinous rice that has been pounded.

Post-COVID-19 tourist arrival target

In terms of the source markets for foreign tourists who come to Terengganu, based on the number of arrivals to Malaysia up until 2019, the main is China due to its volume and higher penetration rate. “Chinese tourists love the islands like Redang and Lang Tengah, which operators promote to them directly by collaborating with the travel agents in Kuala Lumpur. We even have the traditional Kampung Cina (Chinatown) in Terengganu inhabited by a community of Peranakan Chinese called Mek and Awang that is different from Baba and Nyonya found in Melaka and Penang. We are also mulling with the idea of targeting the sizeable and affluent Muslim Chinese market. At the moment, as far as I know, Muslims in China do not have direct passage to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj or Umrah and they are required to transit in another country like Malaysia before proceeding to Makkah. Therefore, if possible, I hope that the Chinese Muslims can detour to Terengganu on the way to Saudi Arabia, likewise for other countries like Indonesia,” YB Ariffin contemplates.

Other markets that Terengganu intends to target are Europeans and Americans, including West Asians, who mostly go to Kuala Lumpur and Penang for shopping since they are big spenders and long stayers. “Recently, I interacted with an Iraqi student who is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in UNISZA. When I asked him how he finds Terengganu so far, he said it has been fascinating because the experience is different than his time completing his master’s degree in agriculture at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). He has now stayed in Terengganu close to four years, able to converse in basic Malay and finds Terengganu more fun and peaceful,” he shares.

Hopes for the tourism industry

Because the tourism industry is important for the rakyat, YB Ariffin hopes that the people of Terengganu and the state government uphold the concept of ‘Think Tourism, Act Tourism’, similar to what is being carried out in Melaka and Sabah, including Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia because these destinations have been successful in receiving many international tourists and able to give Terengganu a run for its money.

“I am sure that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) Malaysia is readying up the country because competition for tourists will be fierce once the borders reopen, thus Terengganu does not want to fall on the wayside. That is why Terengganu makes it a point to join as many international tourism trade fairs such as ITB Berlin and World Travel Mart in London because attending those events is crucial for Terengganu’s visibility in the international scene, even though it is a long-game play. As such, it is my hope that tourism is appreciated by many, especially the people of Terengganu, and recognised as one of the state’s main economic drivers. In the next five to ten years, I wish to see that people have Terengganu at the top of their minds whenever they think about travelling,” cites YB Ariffin as he concludes the interview.