Apologise, MP tells Nazri over insensitive ‘volunteer tourism’ idea
SHAH ALAM - Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz should apologise to the victims of the devastating floods, says opposition MP Charles Santiago.
The Klang MP described the former tourism and culture minister’s suggestion that the annual floods in the country have the potential to be a tourism attraction, as a "stupid" idea.
Santiago said Nazri was insensitive and had undermined the plight of the people who were affected by the floods by making such comments.
“I think he (Nazri) needs to apologise to the people who were facing the problem as people were very upset because the floods have become a daily phenomenon.
“He has undermined the problem, the plight of the people, the loss of lives, the people whose houses were affected by the flood on a daily basis including the properties which were destroyed due to the floods,” he told Sinar Daily.
He added that it was unbecoming for Nazri as a former minister and an MP to make such a suggestion.
An MP, he said needed to be sensitive to the people’s needs and make recommendations to help resolve the flood situation by among others improving the drainage system, mitigation and making climate change a serious need.
He said Nazri was actually making a joke out of a real problem that people are facing on a daily basis.
“The rule of an MP is not to be a circus clown but to actually make recommendations to solve people's problems.
"This is not theatre sports where people come to see what's happening, but it is a matter of life and death. You don't joke about such things,” he said.
Recently, during an interview with Sinar Daily, Nazri made a statement suggesting that the annual floods that hit the country have the potential to be a tourism attraction.
He said instead of crying over the situation going beyond control, the country should seek opportunities to promote volunteer tourism.
However, some politicians as well as social media users have panned Nazri's flood tourism idea saying that he was insensitive and lacked empathy to the predicament faced by the people.
