Philip Khor

The Star, on Monday April 12, 2010 published a personal opinion, with a sensational headline:

“Terengganu MB is chasing tourists away”

lol.

The jist: At an ostentatious minimum rate of US$500 (RM1,599) a night, I’m sure a majority of Malaysians won’t be able to visit the island in future.

My friend @bergeryap87 commented:

how can it be long term good for msia?

2nd question, if i got 1.6k, you think i would wanna donate to msia? of course ill go to hk, aus and etc again. that’s the reason why we as malaysian get cheaper rate for all the stuff in our country… if everything oso so expensive, u think is good for msia? and people will continue to live here?

Allow me to give my 5 points opinion on this matter.

1. Actual costs of oversea travel is much higher than the airfare + hotel. A typical backpacking European getaway will cost RM 7k and above. Australia is not far behind.

2. Compared to current prices for Redang, it might seem very steep. But I think, the plan would be to bundle packages alongside hotel stays. IT keeps the small hotel operators away. Now that there are less people on the island, it truly can be a relaxing getaway for those who can afford. If not, there are hundreds of islands to choose from in Malaysia where it is cheaper and offer a competitive experience!

I think the commenter is right, they are chasing the low-income people away from the island. Making the island exclusive will attract the big spenders which will fuel the Malaysian economy. Who knows, Intel and AMD and Microsoft and Apple CEOs might gather at Redang for a week, get impressed with the hospitality, and decide to set base for APEC in Malaysia? Hah, how about that?

Or perhaps a multi-billion dollar investment gets finalised on this beautiful island of ours? Nice, conducive environment.

3. Right now, it’s a dog eat dog situation when it comes to fishing tourists for a resort. Price wars bring short term success, but how low can you go? And how long will you last? Quality suffers because everyone want everything to be cheap!

Raising the price would require operators to raise the quality. Imagine of a bad review goes up after the increase, that would be bad! But if Malaysian holiday operators had more money to play with, the Redang experience would be more memorable and enjoyable for our Foreign friends. It’s only one island, for goodness sake. Get over it.

4. Economy wise, let’s take example of Education. Why are British and Australian universities charging 10-20  times more for education compared to a local Malaysian university? Is the knowledge imparted by a local programme far “inferior” or “irrelevant”? Well, this is debatable. But the reason why “they” can charge more is because of quality. The standards are higher and the experience of learning is much more conducive. (Taylor’s market term)

5. I challenge this to Malaysian colleges and universities.

RAISE YOUR FEES 5 times from current prices.

Right now, the public will hate you and curse you up, right, left down and center. But in the long run, your quality of educators increase, the facilities which you carry out your class increase. In short run, the cheaper college will have overcrowding of students. Their reputation will be affected when they can’t keep up. If they’re engaging in price war, they would have a tough time to keep up with huge classes and overworked lecturers. But with regard to sustainability and recognition, your strategy to make it “expensive” will pay off eventually.

On Perception: I wrote this a month ago.

I made a bold prediction: By 2015, the “Top 10 universities” in the world (and in Malaysia) would be the ones who spend the most in Advertising.

Meaning, if Taylor’s decided to pump in the MILLIONS of ringgit per year in Advertising expenditure, it will be “perceived” as the number 1 in a random student survey.

Full article here. I keep surprising myself day by day!

This is not an advertorial, but through my own general observations. Just look at Taylor’s. They are too expensive. But look to where they are now. World class campus, Malaysian based university. 5 years down the line, their Masters & Doctorate programs will have worldwide recognition. Their Business school would rival Harvards.

Trust me. They had a hard time convince the public 20 years ago, why they should pay a higher price, a higher premium for education.

Look who’s laughing now?

[edit] Today, 13 April 2010 the Star Malaysia publish an article on advertising

[edit 2] Photoshop CS5 is out. Check out the features. Goes to show what a paid app, vs a freeware like GIMP can do. Money going into development creates these new innovative technologies!

Comments are welcomed.

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