Have confidence in ringgit, tourism ministry says after group moots payments in US dollar

The tourism, arts and culture ministry has called on players in the tourism industry to continue using the Malaysian currency when charging tourists for accommodation and services.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing said if they used the US dollar, this would not guarantee that it would continue to be strong to benefit the industry.

"We must have confidence in our own country and must remember that the US dollar is strong now, but we don’t know how long the value of this currency will last. 

"Who knows, one day everyone will no longer want to use this currency... what will happen (then)?

"We know that in some countries, the US dollar is no longer strong because some banks have collapsed. We understand this situation (the value of the ringgit has decreased against the US dollar) and that is why Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is doing his best to resolve this issue," he said at an event in Subang Jaya yesterday.

He was responding to a request from the Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (Maho) which had proposed charging room rates in the US dollar.
 
He alo called on the people to work with the government to promote Malaysia and woo investors to the country.

On June 20, Maho president Teo Chiang Hong had called for hotels to raise room rates for more revenue and consider charging tourists in US dollars to mitigate the higher costs from minimum wage increases, overtime pay and electricity charges.