Kuah assemblyman Amar Pared Mahamud has invited DAP’s Teresa Kok and RSN Rayer to visit Langkawi and see for themselves how the island’s tourist-reliant economy has recovered.
Amar said official data showed a steady increase in tourist arrivals to Langkawi, from 2.5 million visitors in 2022 to 2.8 million in 2023 and 2.9 million in 2024.
As of August this year, Langkawi has recorded 2.01 million tourists – 410,000 more than the 1.96 million visitors during the same period last year, said Amar.
His statement was in response to criticism by Kok and Rayer in the Dewan Rakyat.
Kok accused the Kedah government of failing to develop Langkawi; she called for the island to be run by the federal government, or designated as an international zone. Rayer claimed that Kedahans were suffering as “no one wants to visit Langkawi”.
In response, Amar said the…