CONGRATULATIONS to all those involved in proposing, appointing and bringing Chinese actress Fan Bingbing to Malacca. Last Friday, she made her debut as Malacca tourism ambassador.

Clad in sarung kebaya, she smiled and waived to large crowds waiting for her wherever she went and countless photos and videos were taken and uploaded over social media.

Fan ranked among the top 10 Chinese actors every year since 2006 and was among the highest-paid celebrities in Forbes Chinese Celebrity List from 2013 to 2017. She was included in Time magazine’s “100 most influential people” in 2017.

The rigours of working as an actress had prepared her well to be in constant public glare as she cannot be caught off guard by dropping her smile and getting caught by cameras.

When unfavourable reports or comments are published, the media often choose the worst photos to disparage their targets, such as government leaders they disapproved of or loud-mouthed politicians.

Watching Fan and everyone around her having a great fun time in Malacca is like a breath of fresh air, although I am familiar with the historically and culturally rich city, having brought foreign tourists there from more than half a century ago and conducted training in recent years.

Malacca could not have created a greater media buzz than appointing Fan, unless the state government wishes to up the ante by adopting the proposal I made 12 years ago.

It was published by the New Straits Times on August 3, 2012, under the heading “Use epics of two princesses to promote tourism”, which is reproduced in full below.  

“According to legend, Weng Cheng, a Tang Dynasty princess, married Tibet’s King Songtsan Gampo in 641; and Hang Li Po, a Ming Dynasty princess, married Sultan Mansur Shah of Malacca in 1459. 

The details regarding both princesses are scarce and there is uncertainty amongst historians as to whether these two princesses truly existed. However, they have something in common.

Their legendary exploits have been passed down generations and their names are well known, the former in China and the latter in Malaysia.

Princess Wen Cheng The Musical, a 100% Malaysian production, made its debut at Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur in 2008 and was showcased in Taipei last year.

In May this year, the musical was performed in Beijing, and in July, in Xian, the capital of China during the Tang Dynasty.

The musical was very well received in Xi’an where performing arts are strongly supported. A pop concert by a popular Taiwanese singer and a world-renowned London West End musical was recently held there.

Our Malaysian troupe performed to packed audiences and the four shows garnered 8,000 fans, thanks to solid backing by the local authorities and the publicity, which included the use of five giant billboards.

The city rolled out the red carpet for Malaysians, as local folk were proud of foreigners embracing the legacy of their princess, and had come to pay homage in her homeland.

It was an opportune time for our public and private sector organisations to promote tourism, trade and investments, as the musical generated a groundswell of goodwill towards Malaysia.

Princess Wen Cheng The Musical will have a rerun at Istana Budaya this coming October and if we had done our promotions, many people from Xi’an would be travelling to Kuala Lumpur for a surreal experience of watching their princess come alive in a tropical paradise in contrast to the arduous journey she made to Tibet; crossing deserts, snow-capped mountains and high plateaus.

The musical is also scheduled to be staged in Singapore in January next year and there are plans to take it to Europe and the US.

Our authorities are aware that staging popular concerts and musicals can attract hordes of tourists, especially from neighbouring countries.

For this reason, the International Events Unit under the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau had a hand in bringing in Justin Bieber and Shrek the Musical. Our tourism receipts shot up in conjunction with their recent performances here.

I urge the people who produced Princess Wen Cheng The Musical to collaborate with the authorities to produce the mother of all musicals – Princess Hang Li Po The Musical. 

It will have to be a cast of a thousand as Princess Hang Li Po came with a retinue of 500 maidens and would need a huge venue such as Stadium Melaka to stage the musical. 

Students from China studying in Malaysia can be roped in to play the role of the 500 maidens and their families, friends and relatives invited to come and watch the show. 

The musical must be professionally recorded as it can be used as a most effective tool for continuous tourism promotions. Some of the footage can be included in many documentaries. It may inspire the making of a blockbuster movie similar to that of ‘The Last Emperor’. 

Malacca grew rapidly and became the largest port in South East Asia under the protection of the Ming Emperor who had the world’s largest armada at his disposal, led by Admiral Zheng He, also known as Cheng Ho, Ma Sanbao and Haji Mahmud Shamsuddin, his Muslim name. 

While Princess Weng Cheng had to trek overland, Princess Hang Li Po’s voyage to Malacca was virtually a cruise, as the Ming fleet comprised gigantic Chinese junks reputed to be the largest ever sailing ships. 

The sets used in the musical should be preserved and displayed as tourist attractions such as the replica of the palace used by Sultan Mansur Shah and the abode used by Princess Hang Li Po. 

Bukit Cina, which was occupied by the 500 maidens and later became the biggest Chinese cemetery outside China, would be transformed into a more meaningful historical site. 

Hopefully, it would not attract swarms of international grave robbers digging for Ming treasures buried within, as they are worth fortunes in China and the international antique market. 

The number of Chinese tourists to Malaysia, now averaging 100,000 monthly, can easily be increased by several folds, making them the second largest visitors after Singapore, which is contributing over a million visitor arrivals to our country monthly. 

This is easily achievable when we fully harness the talents and resources of both our private and public sectors to exploit the rich diversity of our nation. 

It is time to bring the slogan ‘Malaysia, truly Asia’ to a higher level, as musicals and movies are more effective than ordinary advertising and promotions as many of them look similar and are quickly forgotten. 

Drama and music that are based on history and culture strike a chord deep in our souls and will long be remembered and entrenched as part of our psyche. 

The legends of Princess Hang Li Po and Princess Wen Cheng have survived for more than 500 and 1,300 years respectively, and are likely to last longer than the best advertising and promotional campaigns.” – June 17, 2024.

* YS Chan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* 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.