There was the case of one D.A. Bragger, a retired member of Britain's Royal Air Force who served here during the Emergency. Down for a visit after many long years, Bragger read of the reburial ceremony for nine RAF personnel killed in a plane crash during the Emergency. Then in Penang, the old soldier wanted to attend the reburial to honour his former colleagues. Bragger booked a hotel in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Unfortunately for him, the hotel was not a very well known one.
Flying into Kuala Lumpur International Airport, he traveled to KL Sentral where he boarded a taxi. But the cabbie didn't know where the hotel was and so ended up driving around for a long while before eventually finding it. As if that wasn't enough, another cabbie the next day did not know where the Cheras cemetery was. Fortunately, they ran into the cortege driving to the cemetery. It's perhaps understandable that a relatively unknown hotel in Cheras may not be known to a cabbie. But how in the world does a KL taxi driver not know where the Cheras cemetery is located?
How do taxi drivers "deliver the right information and show Malaysia in a good light" then, as our Tourism Minister was quoted as saying? This training that her ministry will put the taxi drivers through should, perhaps, also include an English language course, if they are found to be lacking, and lessons on road names, hotel names and places other than KLCC, KL Tower and other well-known tourist sites. For sure, however, it will take more than just the one day the training is now scheduled for.
We wish the Minister all the best in this effort.
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