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Gaya Interview: Dato’ Seri Aminuddin bin Harun, Menteri Besar of Negeri Sembilan
Polishing Up Negeri Sembilan’s Tourism Potential
Gaya Travel Magazine recently sat down with the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of the southern Malaysian state of Negeri Sembilan to learn more about what his state intends to do to further boost tourist arrivals, since he also holds the portfolio as the state’s Executive Councillor for Tourism.
According to Dato’ Seri Aminuddin, the state government of Negeri Sembilan views tourism as crucial for Malaysia, particularly Negeri Sembilan, because of its significant contribution towards the economy and ability to improve the livelihood of the people. Though Negeri Sembilan does not tax the industry directly (as a way to obtain revenue), the state’s local residents are able to obtain income from this industry in a quicker manner, bringing them benefits. Tourism opens up economic opportunities since tourists bring with them funds to the destination they are visiting. As these tourists spend, they help to create income and jobs for those who reside at the destination. This is clearly evident in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan’s most popular destination.
“I see that when we focus on tourism, it gives direct impact onto the citizens. We should not treat tourism as a sector that is unimportant. To me, various forms of businesses and enterprises make up the tourism industry such as food and beverage, transportation, and accommodation, including smallscale services operated by youths like boat rental and jet-skiing, allowing them to thrive,” stresses Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
In 2018, Negeri Sembilan registered a 14% increase in its domestic tourist arrivals. “When I first started holding the portfolio as the state’s Tourism Exco, I realise that the most important factor to attract travellers to Port Dickson is cleanliness, therefore I ordered the cleaning contractor, SWM, to ensure that on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, beginning at 8:00 a.m., the beaches in Port Dickson are ready to receive visitors. Before this, cleaners started their work at 8:00 a.m. and continued until late morning in the presence of tourists. These days, I have requested the cleaning to be done from as early as 6:30 a.m. so that by 8:00 a.m., the work would have already finished and not get in the visitors’ way. We even monitor the cleanliness of public toilets in Port Dickson. I suppose that might be why we see the increase of domestic tourist arrivals into Negeri Sembilan, particularly Port Dickson,” he reasons.
Dato’ Seri Aminuddin further reveals that investors are returning to Port Dickson to set up hotels. “Two hotels at the 7th Mile, which remained unfinished over the years, are now being revived. One new hotel is currently under construction. On top of that, Lexis Hotel Group recently announced that it will add more above-water villas at Lexis Hibiscus. These developments bode well for the state’s tourism industry. At the same time, our eyes remain fixed on ecotourism,” chimes Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
When it comes to domestic tourists, Negeri Sembilan intends to take advantage of its proximity to Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Putrajaya and the conurbations within Klang Valley. As for international tourists, the state receives many from mainland China, who would normally overnight at one of Port Dickson’s beachside accommodations after touring Melaka, while those from Singapore tend to come over during weekends and public holidays.
Banking on culture
Negeri Sembilan seeks to expand the state’s tourism offerings by highlighting on its unique culture that could not be found elsewhere. The state is the only one in Malaysia that widely practices Adat Perpatih (a culture that emphasises on the matrilineal system of inheritance and administration), which is reflected in its dialect, traditional attire, customs, folk songs, culinary and architecture, rendering the state incomparable.
beams Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
Though Negeri Sembilan is historically connected to Pagar Ruyung in West Sumatera because Negeri Sembilan was settled by the Minangkabaus who hailed from there and brought along their customs and traditions since the 1400s. However, the culture has considerably progressed over the ages and now stands in its own right. “Travellers who come to Negeri Sembilan will be able to make the distinction when comparing the state with Pagar Ruyung, recognised as the place where most of Negeri Sembilan’s customs and traditions originated. Though we are considered as an off-shoot of the Minangkabau diaspora, the differences are clear, especially in terms of the royal family who still rules over Negeri Sembilan. In contrast, due to Indonesia’s historical developments, Pagar Ruyung is no more ruled by royalty, though the generations of Minangkabau nobility still hold strong attachments to Pagar Ruyung. Negeri Sembilan of today offers a distinct cultural and tourism experience, to the point that Negeri Sembilan receives many academicians from West Sumatera who study the state’s culture to learn how it evolved over the centuries. For example, the roofs of the traditional houses in Negeri Sembilan is not as sharply pitched as the Minangkabau houses found in West Sumatera that tend to strongly follow the shape of buffalo horns,” he explains.
“Talking about the state’s architecture, I see that the old Seri Menanti palace should be given more attention as a state icon, especially since the palace has just completed renovation. It is uniquely designed, built without using any nail, and set amidst a serene setting, making it a must-visit attraction all year round, either in the morning, evening or at night. The structure alone attracts thousands of students and those involved in construction engineering who want to learn about how it is built.
Dato’ Seri Aminuddin ruminates.
Developing ecotourism and agro-tourism potential
Because the state possesses undulating natural landscapes, caves, rivers, waterfalls, and agricultural areas that are worth promoting, it is now exploring the ways on how best to tap on its eco-tourism potential. Dato’ Seri Aminuddin is confident that ecotourism can become one of Negeri Sembilan’s tourism pillars.
“During weekends, we notice that many cyclists, motorbikers and commuters head to areas like Jelebu and Kuala Pilah to relax. We also receive information that Negeri Sembilan’s bukit (hills) and gunung (mountains) namely Gunung Datuk, Gunung Angsi and Gunung Tampin, are popular among hikers on Saturdays and Sundays. Gunung Angsi attracts up to 500 hikers every Saturday and over 400 hikers every Sunday, which is significant. Those who prefer more leisurely and less arduous hikes can head up to Bukit Melati and Bukit Kepayang,” he recommends.
Negeri Sembilan state government is currently evaluating the state’s ecotourism attractions to upgrade the infrastructure that supports them. One attraction that has been identified with the most potential is Kenaboi State Park, where travellers can experience a marvellous atmosphere since the park is still pristine. “My favourite place in Negeri Sembilan, besides Port Dickson, is Kenaboi,” Dato’ Seri Aminuddin smiles. He deems that Kenaboi State Park should be promoted because the area contains the point where the states of Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor meet, which is attractive to nature lovers, hikers and international travellers. Since Kenaboi is still pristine, it needs to be studied and preserved further so that its potential can be tapped to the fullest. The state government is setting up more facilities in the park such as campsite and proper accommodations so that more people can come over.
Another destination that can be tapped further is Sungai Linggi, which could be designated as a crocodile sanctuary, alongside the existing firefly colony found along its banks and the abundance of giant freshwater prawn in the waters. Cruising along Sungai Linggi has the potential to be marketed internationally as a must-do when being in Negeri Sembilan.
There are delightful agro-tourism attractions in Negeri Sembilan too because the state’s farms and orchards attract visitors, particularly during fruit season. Dato’ Seri Aminuddin says that
Durian orchards are aplenty, and when durian season comes, the entire road leading towards Jelebu around Jalan Pantai area is flanked by durian sellers, turning the place festive, a haven for durian lovers. Establishments like NS Dairy Farm provide the chance for travellers to source for fresh milk, while ostrich farms allow travellers to learn about these majestic birds and ride on them, besides purchasing lowcholesterol and healthy ostrich meat. Negeri Sembilan boasts homestays with paddy fields like Kampung Lonek where travellers can learn about rice cultivation.
Culinary haven in the making
Though Negeri Sembilan’s cultural origins can be traced back to West Sumatera, its culinary choices remain different. Each district in Negeri Sembilan has its own specialty, and the state government is all set to tap on gastronomic tourism to bring the state’s dishes to the fore. Interestingly, Negeri Sembilan has various types of rendang, one of them is rendang maman (beef or chicken rendang cooked together with the Cleome gynandra leaves that elicit an appetising flavour) that can be found in Tampin, where travellers can also find tart Bangkahulu (local bite-sized pastry). Travellers are encouraged to search for dishes like sabak salai (smoked beef or duck cooked in coconut gravy laced with bird’s eye chilli) in Pedas; satay tulang (grilled skewered chicken bones) in Jelebu; apam (traditional steamed dough made of rice flour, coconut milk, yeast and palm sugar) wrapped in rambai (Baccaurea motleyana) leaf in Johol; mutton head curry in Seremban, served in a shop close to the Negeri Sembilan State Museum; nasi ambeng (traditional cuisine originted from Java that consists of white rice, chicken, vegetable, fried sambal, coconut floss and fried noodle, all served in a tray meant to be shared between four or five persons) in Pachitan, which is different from the once found in Johor and Selangor; and Siew Paw Restaurantin Seremban 2 that is popular among Chinese travellers.
Some of the dining places in Negeri Sembilan are even located in bucolic locations like Kuala Pilah, thus worth to be promoted to tourists. In fact, the road from Kuala Lumpur leading to Kuala Pilah becomes busy because along the way, day trippers from Klang Valley and Putrajaya stop by during the day simply to relish on delicacies like roti canai (Indianinfluenced pan-fried flat bread) dipped in mutton curry for breakfast or savour a wholesome lunch while taking in the views of the surrounding paddy fields. Kuala Pilah is famous for kuih sepang and smoked duck too, including lemang (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes), a delicacy often served during Muslim Eid festivals, but made available all year round in Negeri Sembilan.
Activating the homestays
There are currently several homestay programmes organised by villages such as Kampung Pachitan, Kampung Teluk Pelanduk, Kampung Rawa and Kampung Lonek that are active and popular in Negeri Sembilan. Since the homestay programmes are located close to ecotourism and agro-tourism attractions, popularising them help spur the state’s ecotourism and agrotourism segments.
Dato’ Seri Aminuddin shares that some homestay programmes are becoming less active because those who run them are aging, compounded by the fact that not many from the next generation are interested to continue with the business.
"To address this, the state government intends to train and motivate the next generation to continue the business. We are also attending to requests from other villages within the state that are interested to start new homestay programmes so that there are more homestay options for travellers,” iterates Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
Fortunately, things are looking up: in early August 2019, the homestays in Jelebu and Port Dickson successfully hosted around 2,000 officers who pursued their Diploma in Public Administration from the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN). Based on the officers’ feedback, they were captivated by Jelebu and cherished their stay with their foster parents who made them feel like they were part of the family; some requested to extend their stay at the homestays for another week, proof that the people in Negeri Sembilan are hospitable and go out of their way to make guests feel at home, making the idea of expanding the homestay programme to cover more villages within the state viable.
Negeri Sembilan homestays receive many students from China and Japan too who stopped by for four to five hours to refresh themselves before continuing their journey. That short visit is enough to show what these homestays could offer to travellers, beckoning these students to return in the future for a longer stay.
“To that end, our society needs to be educated in ways of how to become more customer-centric and make guests feel at home by welcoming them and providing comfortable facilities like bedroom and bathroom with appropriate amenities. Though the host may not be able to converse fluently with their guests due to language barrier, guests will still be able to appreciate the host’s graciousness and have a memorable experience out of it,” advises Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
The way forward
In conjunction with Visit Malaysia (VMY) 2020, the state government is working with Tourism Malaysia to come up with packages to sell Negeri Sembilan more effectively. “I always remind all state officers to be ready and make preparations now to receive guests in 2020,” claims Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
As such, the state government is strategising the most effective way on how best to promote Negeri Sembilan possesses. “It takes time to properly formulate and effective plan. I confess that we need to pick up the pace in promoting the state since it has many interesting attractions that travellers are bound to appreciate. We will market the state domestically and internationally once all of the state’s tourism infrastructure is in place,” he acknowledges.
On the same note, the Negeri Sembilan Fest (NS Fest) – organised by the state government and held on 17 until 20 October 2019 in Nilai – aims to add more vibrancy. All Negeri Sembilan state departments are involved in the NS Fest to promote everything related to the state and its districts, ranging from gastronomy and attractions to customs and traditions, to make the public understand better what Negeri Sembilan is all about.
“It is my hope that during my tenure, we are able to develop and sell Negeri Sembilan’s ecotourism and agro-tourism attractions, drawing more international tourists to visit them."
"In 2020, when promoting Negeri Sembilan, the state government intends to reach out to neighbouring Sumatera, which has a population of 53 million, representing a sizeable market that is in close proximity. By receiving just two to three percent of Sumatera’s entire population to visit Negeri Sembilan, the state’s tourism industry is sure to benefit economically from their arrival. We might begin with medical and wellness tourism to attract more tourists from Sumatera. At the moment, there is only one ferry service that connects Dumai in Sumatera to Port Dickson daily. We hope the frequency can be increased to four times a day, consequently bringing in 1,000 people daily into Negeri Sembilan,” concludes Dato’ Seri Aminuddin.
