A post by a Malaysian tourist went viral on social media, in which they gave a negative review of Jakarta.
A Malaysian tourist named Intan Nurliana has recently expressed her criticisms about Jakarta through her TikTok account @intan.nurliana12, covering almost all aspects of the city which also included her culinary experiences in Jakarta, the hotels, and the tourist attractions.
In her carousel post, Nurliana gave low scores for Jakarta, namely 0 out of 10 for the food, 3 out of 10 for the tourist attractions, and 0 out of 10 for the shopping malls and boutiques. The Malaysian tourist’s post later gained numerous comments from Indonesian netizens. Many have expressed anger towards Nurliana’s post, with quite a few among them retaliating against her review by recounting their own experiences when visiting Malaysia.
The current Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Sandiaga Uno, weighed in on Nurliana’s viral review. He implored both the visiting tourists in Indonesia and the Indonesian netizens not to be provoked by posts that may incite hatred towards other countries.
“We should appreciate all feedback and not overreact. Let’s turn this into constructive criticism,” Uno stated during the Weekly Brief at the Sapta Pesona Building, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Jakarta, on Wednesday, the 13th of March.
In addition, Uno acknowledged that he had collaborated with the DKI Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy Department to address complaints or negative remarks made by foreign tourists. He also underscored that Nurliana’s negative review aside, Jakarta remains a popular destination among Malaysian tourists. He highlighted the Tanah Abang neighbourhood as an example of one of the most favoured destinations for Malaysian tourists.
“In reality, [most] tourists from Malaysia thoroughly enjoy their visits to Indonesia — particularly Jakarta, with Tanah Abang being their preferred destination,” he added.