State Executive Council member for tourism, Freddy Long, feels the playing up of stories on crime in the State by the Singapore Press had led to the loss of nearly a million potential visitors from the republic last year.

The "bad Press", especially between March and to June last year, resulted in Johor losing some RM200 million in tourism revenue.

Long based this on the assumption that each Singaporean visitor would spend an average of RM200 per day.

Long said crime reports about Johor by the Singapore media had frightened Singaporeans.

"I am all for the freedom of the Press.

"But there is no denying that a negative perception about Johor has been created among Singaporeans, with the media there playing up stories about crime here."

Long was speaking to reporters, including a representative of Singapore’s Straits Times, after the weekly State Exco meeting at Bukit Timbalan here today.

While acknowledging that there was nothing Johor could do to stop the news slant taken by the Singapore media, he hoped they would be more constructive in their reporting.

"A common impression among Singaporeans is that Johor is not a safe place to visit. This is largely due to the perception created by the media there," he noted.

Often, the stories centre on Singaporean victims of crime. .

                                                      Home