A FEW days ago, the Prime Minister announced in Langkawi that the government had great plans to make the island the “Monaco of the East”, a luxury travel destination.

Although he did not elaborate, as an independent microstate, Monaco is well-known as a playground for rich Europeans, with world-class yacht facilities, a famous casino, designer labels, and an F1 circuit while its residents enjoy relatively tax-free living.

It is a logical plan and one which builds on many of the island’s expensive infrastructure built from the time of Dr Mahathir. It’s an exciting, if ambitious, plan and one that if successfully implemented would greatly increase the economy of Langkawi, a holiday island that has lost quite a bit of its visitors to nearby islands in neighbouring Thailand.

But would the natural, historic, cultural, sides of Langkawi – the ones with eagle-watching, ‘telaga’- gazing, the burnt paddy fields and other historical attractions survive an influx of wealthy visitors looking for a bargain Birkin?

There seems to be a growing trend in Malaysia to build man-made attractions as a means to bring in foreign tourists. Of late, we have built an animation world in Perak, a movie theme park in Pahang and a Legoland in Johor. Premium outlet stores are another trend, with a few big ones in operation in Johor, KLIA, Genting Highlands, Penang and KL and with more planned to open over the next few years.

This would be easily understandable in countries like Dubai or Singapore, which lack natural attractions but in Malaysia, where we have them aplenty, would it not be easier to build on what we already have? For example, the islands surrounding Langkawi or entry points into Tioman, or the many charming small towns on the way to bigger tourist destinations could be properly developed to show the diversity and cultural richness of our nation.

Enlarging current airports and promoting direct flights from other countries would be an excellent way of doing this. Thailand saw the importance of this early on, and several of their airports outside Bangkok have developed into major hubs in their own right, developing their respective host cities as global tourist destinations. Phuket, for example, hosts 56 weekly flights from KLIA alone.

Maintaining our identity doesn’t only apply to tourist destinations. It should of course, emanate from our own communities and neighbourhoods. Recently, at the ECRL launch, many accused the Prime Minster of making it look more like a Chinese affair than a Malaysian one.

More important than the launch, would be the look and feel of the stations after. The MRT project has seen some stations being ‘adopted’ by corporations. Care should be taken in naming those stations, which would serve as a focal point of that community, to preserve as much of the character of that neighbourhood as possible. For example, “Brickfields” would be a name with more character and history to it compared to a “Sentral Zon B”.

As progress piles and bores its way across the country, many names of old towns and the history associated with them run the risk of being swallowed up by generic names, mostly that of the developer or the convenient re-association of the neighbourhood with a more ‘upscale’ one. Which explains why Bangsar today has a South formerly known as Kerinchi, Damansara now covers parts of Sungai Buloh and we have more than a dozen towns named Sunway and half a dozen named Tropicana all across the country.

Many street names and neighbourhoods used to tell a story – one of a local hero or a historical incident or a fairy tale grounded in some moral lesson meant for the people there. In developing the country, due consideration should be given to the local people, their well-being and their stories. Or we risk being a nation of flash and grandeur but without a soul. – August 22, 2017.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.