KUCHING: A total of 27 tour guides licensed under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) have been recognised as the first Muslim-Friendly Tour Guides (MFTG) in Sarawak.
Caretaker Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said the group had been trained from Sept 12 to 14.
According to her, the recognition also brings the latest number of MFTG in Malaysia to 113 people, including those who have just completed the course in Kuala Lumpur recently.
“These people are also exposed to various knowledge, among others, such as issues and challenges regarding basic matters in halal and principles of Islamic shariah including basic matters in ensuring an effective communication process,” she said.
MOTAC secretary-general Datuk Saraya Arbi delivered her speech in conjunction with the launch of the MFTG Logo and Badge Pin (Lapel Pin), Presentation of Sarawak MFTG Recognition Certificate and Presentation of Mosque Visit Guide Course Participation Certificate (Mosque Visit Guide – MosVi) at Damai Beach Resort here yesterday.
Explaining the MFTG logo, Nancy informed that it is a branding initiative by the Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) to make it easier for the public and the industry to recognise trained tour guides.
“I believe with this kind of branding concept, it will be able to further increase the visibility of our MFTG to the general public and tourists as well as increase the morale of the trained and quality MFTG ranks,” she said.
In another related matter, regarding the presentation of certificates to participants of the MosVi Training Course, she informed that it was also introduced by ITC in collaboration with Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) as one of the initiatives for the development of Mosque Tourism products.
“I see this as a very good effort towards advancing and promoting the institution of the mosque, especially when the mosque is getting more and more attention because it has various interesting stories in terms of structure, construction, history and also the heritage of the local community and has the potential to be used as a tourist attraction.
“This mosque tour guide training course can help committee members (AJK), mosque volunteers who are interested and open to receive tourists to gain knowledge in the management including the implementation of guided tours of the mosque in a more effective and interesting way,” she explained.
Among those present were Director General of ITC Datuk Dr Mohmed Razip Hasan; President of the Sarawak Tourist Guides Association (STGA) Abang Azahari Abang Zaidan and other representatives.
