Tan re-elected Matta chief
Published on: Sunday, July 14, 2019
By: Nikko Fabian
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) remains in good hands following the re-election of its President Datuk Tan Kok Liang during the 44the Annual General Meeting (AGM) cum election held at the Putra WorldTrade Centre (PWTC), here, Saturday.
Tan polled 383 votes from 589 delegates to defeat challenger Rohizam Md Yusoff of Cat Travel Sdn Bhd who garnered 173 votes.
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Tan of Borneo Trails Tour and Travel Sdn Bhd has been a key driving force in the country’s tourism industry for almost three decades.
He was the Chairman of Matta Sabah Chapter (2009-013) and thereafter as Vice President Inbound & Domestic (2013-2017) and then President in 2017.
He received his early education in Perak, holds a Masters in Tourism (University of Toulouse, France) and is a Chartered Accountant by training.
Tan in his new term (2019-2021) will continue to lead the association in raising the standard of the country’s tourism sector and to strategically position Matta members to capitalise on the expected increase in tourism numbers both inbound and outbound.
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Prior to his re-election, Tan pledged that the Accelerated Capital Allowances (ACA) and Tax Exemption extension for members will be among his priorities if given the mandate to spearhead the association for the second time.
He said he will push for ACA to support the purchase of tourism vehicles, website development/upgrade and information communication technology (ICT)/automation tool, including software to encourage modernisation and enable travel agencies adopt the latest technology and automation tools for the tourism sector.
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Under his leadership, Tan said he will also lobby to extend incentives granted by the government for inbound tour operators for year 2020 to 2025 and to ease conditions for new and SME companies to qualify for the exemption covering bumiputera operators.
A Land Transport Committee member will be appointed in every State Chapter so that plans can be rolled out more effectively, he said adding that this includes holding regular dialogues with the Ministry of Transport to resolve issues in a timely manner and not to forget expansion of markets for Bumiputera Operators.
Meanwhile, Tan’s running mate Mohd Akil Mohd Yusof from Triway Travel Centre (M) Sdn Bhd won the Deputy President post with 421 votes against rival Datuk Wira Syed Abdul Rahman Al Habshi of MR Travel and Tour Sdn Bhd who only managed 156 votes.
The rest of Tan’s running mates under the Team Malaysia were also given the mandate to form the new set of office-bearers for 2019-2021 term.
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