Malaysia is blessed to have a wealth of popular tourist attractions that draw thousands of tourists each year, which in turn boosts its economy.
However, a netizen from China residing in Malaysia claimed that these same tourist attractions are discriminatory in nature, as seen from the price levied on locals and foreigners.
China netizen says M’sia discriminates tourists with ticket prices
In a post shared by the netizen on Xiaohongshu (XHS), he shared that he currently resides in Penang for the past six months and has fallen deeply in love with it.
However, he pointed out there was one thing about attraction spots in the country that bothered him greatly — the price difference between locals and foreigners.
“We’ve traveled around Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Kuching, Cameron Highlands, and Ipoh, where it’s rare to find attractions where the ticket prices are the same for foreigners and locals.
Most places charge foreigners 1–2 times more, and even a 1x difference would be understandable — but the most outrageous case was at a museum in Kuching where locals pay RM10 and foreigners RM50?
“If Malaysia wants to develop its tourism industry and has already implemented visa-free policies, isn’t it contradictory to make foreigners feel like they’re constantly being taken advantage of?” he questioned.
Other areas of alleged discrimination
Aside from ticket prices at tourist attractions, the netizen listed other areas which he personally felt was unfair to require foreigners to pay more, which included:
- Hotel taxes
- Taxes levied when buying or selling property
- Driving school fees
He added that such policies will only drive tourists away and suggested that a separate ticketing app being made for locals so that foreigners don’t have to see the price difference and be affronted by it.
Pushback from M’sians
Naturally, Malaysians weren’t too pleased with the netizen labelling the country as ‘discriminatory’ and gave him a piece of their mind in the comments.
One pointed out that most countries in the world would impose higher prices on foreigners than locals and that Malaysia wasn’t an anomaly.
Another said the difference in price tickets wasn’t meant to discriminate against tourists, but rather to provide special benefits for locals.
Meanwhile, one told the China netizen to either step out from his bubble or stay at home instead, adding that it was unfair to call Malaysia ‘discriminatory’ based off his ignorance.
What do you think of the China netizen’s remarks? Let us know in the comments!
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