Wednesday 9 January 2013

More to do to make Malaysia a better place to retire

Malaysia will continue improving its tourism products after gaining worldwide recognition as an ideal place to retire in, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

“I am very proud that the world is recognising our country as an ideal place for retirement.

“However, there is still room for improvement to make Malaysia an even more comfortable place for retirees,” she said, adding that this included transportation.

“Efforts under the National Key Result Area (NKRA) have been yielding results in terms of better public transport. But there is still much more we can do,” said Dr Ng.

Malaysia was recently ranked third on travel web-magazine Internationalliving.com's list of “World's Top Retirement Havens in 2013”.

The list was compiled based on several factors affecting retirees, such as special benefits and infrastructure, medical and health facilities and cost of living.

Ecuador came out tops and Panama second.

“There are many reasons that make Malaysia a great place to retire in, such as a stable environment, nice climate, affordable cost of living and our cultural diversity,” Dr Ng added.

On the three Moroccan tourists robbed by two men posing as taxi drivers in Penang, Dr Ng said the incident was unfortunate.

She added that taxi services in the country needed to be strengthened.

In line with this, the ministry was training taxi drivers to become ambassadors for the country.

“So far, we have trained up to 4,000 drivers and helped them see their very significant role in building the tourism industry.

“We have received feedback that the quality of service provided by taxi drivers, especially those who have undergone training, has improved.”

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