KUALA LUMPUR – Former culture, arts and heritage minister Tan Sri Rais Yatim has chided the current post-holder Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the chief secretary and the Public Service director-general over the sudden demotion of the former Tourism Malaysia chief.
“Throughout the history of the country, never has a minister demoted a head of a government department or agency by making a public statement to embarrass said officer.
“This bak kut teh minister has ‘sentenced’ the (former) Tourism director-general (Datuk Ammar Abd Ghapar) even though Malaysia recorded 26 million tourist arrivals in 2023,” said Rais in a Facebook post yesterday.
The former Dewan Negara president also questioned the apparent lack of action over the reports of 1.2 million tourists from China who did not return home.
“Who is to blame for that and who should be demoted? Is the Public Service DG just going to keep quiet? Is the chief secretary going to continue to watch (from the sidelines)?”
Ammar’s demotion has caused a backlash with Tiong being criticised over the way it played out in public.
Tiong had denied the demotion was racially motivated, saying it was over Ammar’s supposed non-performance.
“It’s like he has no ideas or doesn’t know what to do to improve the national tourism industry. If you don’t perform, then someone else has to step in.
“It (Ammar’s demotion) had nothing to do with racism. Since he could not perform, I demoted him to give other people a chance.”
The minister also said when Ammar’s predecessor retired, he was not “at the top of the list” of candidates put forth by the ministry to take up the post.
“(But), I gave him a chance because he has a PhD in tourism. However, his execution of his duties did not (demonstrate his qualification),” Tiong said, adding that several state government representatives had raised issues with Ammar’s lack of engagement.
Last Saturday, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali explained Tiong’s power to appoint and remove the Tourism Malaysia director-general is provided for in Section 10(1) of the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board Act 1992.
For the record, Tiong’s February 22 letter ordering Ammar’s demotion had stated the minister’s powers in Section 10(1) were to be read together with Section 47 of the Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967.
The Interpretation Acts state that where a power to make an appointment is conferred by any written law, the appointing authority shall also have the power to remove, suspend, reappoint or reinstate any person appointed in the exercise of the power.
Tiong’s decision to demote Ammar has also been criticised by the public sector union Cuepacs, which questioned the lack of procedures followed, such as a warning letter and opportunity to explain the supposed underperformance.
Bersatu’s Masjid Tanah MP Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who was formerly deputy tourism minister, had also accused Tiong of power abuse over Ammar’s demotion.
Ammar has repeatedly insisted that he does not know what he did wrong, instead pointing to how he is a veteran in the industry after having served in the public sector for 36 years with the necessary qualifications.
Tourism Malaysia, however, has appeared to back the demotion, its directors saying they are in full support of Tiong and the ministry’s “change of direction”, and that feedback from the tourism industry showed that drastic improvements are needed. – February 26, 2024