Tiong urged to explain absence of mosque in Visit Malaysia Year 2026 teaser

A video montage for the launch of the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign has led to comments about its omission of mosques even though non-Muslim places of worship are featured, in what could spark another controversy similar to last year's George Town Festival.

The 41-second video was shared by Tourism Malaysia on Facebook on Jan 6, and showed a historical church in Melaka as well as the Batu Caves Hindu temple, among other landmarks.

However, many viewers were not impressed and felt that the video did not show Malaysia's dominant identity.

"Threatening to wipe out the Islamic identity of the country?" asked Kamarul Ariffin in a reaction to the video.

"Here’s an idea, why not jazz up the teasers by tossing in a few beer bottles and brands like Jack Daniel’s, Chivas or Black Label as our national symbols?"

Many pointed out that Malaysian mosques are known for their beautiful architecture.

"Hopefully one of the 100,000 mosques in Malaysia will be included in the full video montage later," said Ikhwan Ibrahim.

Ahmad Aiman expressed his surprise that none of the country's many historic mosques found their way into the video.

"I think this is inappropriate and not in line with the Malaysia Madani agenda today. An explanation is needed as to why a 41-second video cannot include a few seconds of a mosque," he asked.

Meanwhile, Radzi Jidin of Perikatan Nasional demanded an explanation from Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing.

When contacted, a press aide to Tiong said that the non-Muslim places of worships depicted in the clip were tourist attractions, giving an example of the Batu Caves temple included in it.

"There is a silat," said Ross Sia Wan Teng, referring to the Malay martial arts seen in the video, while adding that an official explanation would be issued.

The video was shown during the official launch of the Visit Malaysia Year 2026 campaign by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Sepang on Jan 6.

The complaints are reminiscent of the controversy surrounding the George Town Festival 2024  organised by the Penang government.

A two-minute teaser video for the annual festival was condemned by Muslims and historians for omitting the Malay-Muslim heritage in its portrayal of the state's diverse cultures.

The organisers later removed the video, saying they regretted if the clip had "offended certain groups and individuals".

"In fact, every effort was made in the planning and promotion of George Town Festival 2024 to ensure an inclusive, comprehensive and balanced representation, including in terms of programme categories, gender groups, age and ethnicity," George Town Festival had said.

MalaysiaNow had then reported that of the 24 members of the organising team from a private company tasked with managing the event, only one was of Malay descent.

Prominent historian Ahmad Murad Merican had denounced the video as an example of efforts to erase the Malay-Muslim heritage in Penang.

"It is a very serious invasion and suppression of culture and memory," he told MalaysiaNow.