FINALLY, Datuk Jimmy Choo, a truly Malaysian fashion icon, has been fully recognised with his appointment as the Malaysian tourism ambassador and Tourism Ministry’s adviser (The Star, Aug 2).

The London-based luxury fashion designer is best known for his hand-made women’s shoes and he is rightfully the best choice to be our tourism ambassador and adviser for the United Kingdom and Europe.

Choo, who was born in Penang, is no stranger to the upscale fashion scene, having some good relations with British royalty and some Hollywood celebrities.

I feel that we can have many tourism ambassadors for the good of the industry. They can play a role similar to what a trade commissioner does in promoting trade and commerce. Tourism is a business which needs to be promoted and developed by any means possible.

The Tourism Ministry should widen its scope to rope in as many tourism ambassadors as possible to boost the industry and promote the country in a more personalised approach. It is more effective than mere advertising, which sometimes can be deceiving.

There are many towering Malaysians who made it big in their own way and choose to reside in the country, which has helped catapult their success. They are still proud Malaysians at heart.

They include Zang Toi in New York, the Kelantanese whose lines of apparel take the Big Apple by storm; Vincent Naidu, who runs a wildlife and safari tour outfit in Kenya, Africa; the bubbly Asha Gill of the popular travel series, Lonely Planet, who keeps harping that she’s from Malaysia but unfortunately not many of her audience knows where.

And of course there are many more successful Malaysians out there who are yet to be discovered who are keen on promoting their country of origin.

While Datuk Seri Jean Todt is a perfect choice as a tourism ambassador to promote the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme, Choo should be our spokesman. He can penetrate high societies and move among celebrities around the world.

Sometimes, tourism ambassadors might not just be successful Malaysians residing overseas. They can be popular Malaysians with large followings around the region like Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Chef Wan or even our former Mercy boss Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood who iss now posted to the United Nations.

Tourism ambassadors merely do voluntary work as proud Malaysians and should be compensated by perhaps free air passage, accommodation and entertainment allowances in the course of their duties. Other forms of recognition will be a boon for their efforts in boosting the image cf the country.

ZARIMALAYSIANA, Petaling Jaya.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/5/focus/4453546&sec=focus

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