AN information technology freak has hit out at the Kelantan state government for planning to monetise its monsoon season by presumably turning “flood waters into a tourism product”.
The state’s Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Datuk Kamarudin Md Noor said such effort will be undertaken since Kelantan is “quiet without tourists when the monsoon season arrives”.
But Xavier Naxa (@XavierNaxa) – referring to an Astro Awani news bulletin – ridiculed such idea for instead of attending to the plight of commoners who are inundated by flood waters, the state government “wants to as if celebrates flooding”.
“The Kelantan government wishes to make flooding a tourism product according to @501Awani,” he penned on the X platform.
“Kerajaan Kelantan hasrat jadikan banjir sebagai produk pelancongan” – @501Awani
Sejujurnya saya malu dengan pemikiran sebegini, kami rakyat Kelantan sedang berdepan musibah besar, peliknya mereka seolah-olah mahu meraikannya.
— Xavier Naxa (@XavierNaxa) November 28, 2024
“To be honest, I’m ashamed of this kind of thinking for as we the Kelantanese are facing a great calamity, they (the state government) strangely seem to want to celebrate it (monsoon season).”
Added the poster: “Seriously, why don’t they strengthen the rescue and assistance mission instead of busy trying to make it an annual event to attract tourists? If only one can polish fools into diamonds, I think they could be millionaires.”
However, one commenter reckoned that the headline of the Astro Awani news bulletin “is seemingly misleading as the interviewee didn’t mention about making the flood waters as a tourist attraction”.
This is when the poster rebutted by stating that he has never heard of a monsoon season without flooding.
“There’s bound to be flooding in Kelantan every monsoon season – the question is whether serious or less severe,” he remarked.
Another commenter was less forgiving for he accused Xavier Naxa of “using the spin technique” to politicise especially floodings in the East Coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu which coincidentally come under PAS-rule.
But the poster stood his ground, alluding to the fact that he is apolitical even though he is a Kelantanese himself and the very fact that he only mentioned “state government” as opposed to the political party/coalition in power.
But the exchanges between the commenter and Xavier Naxa soon turned heated as the former continued to provoke the latter by accusing him of siding the government of the day to which the poster defended by berating the later for “being obsessed and unable to swallow criticism” levelled at the party that he is supporting.
As the debate rages on over monetising the monsoon season, Kelantan tops the number of flood evacuees in seven affected states which has reached 80,589 victims as at 9am today (Nov 29), according to the National Disaster Command Centre (NDCC).
Kelantan recorded the highest number of victims at 56,029 people, followed by Terengganu (20,754), Kedah (2,829), Perlis (468), Negri Sembilan (307), Selangor (117) and Perak (66). – Nov 29, 2024
Main image credit: Astro Awani
