Confusion Over Matta And Mata Intentional Or Otherwise

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I REFER to the Bernama report “New tourist bus safety regulations in Malaysia from Aug 1” published on July 14.

The first paragraph is reproduced here in toto: The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATA) has voiced strong support for the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (MOTAC) in enforcing new regulations for tourist bus operations.
And the following paragraph: Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khalid Harun JP, MATA president, stated that the updated rules, effective from Aug 1, will introduce stricter maintenance schedules, driver working hour limits, GPS tracking, and compulsory six-month safety checks.
Over the past six years, some reporters and editors were unclear or confused between MATTA and MATA, and they were not at fault if they had been misled or not corrected, But it had brought much confusion among the public.
MATTA was established half a century ago, and its registered name was “Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents”.
Its acronym was also used in the 50-year-old logo. The headquarters of the association is housed in its own building in Kuala Lumpur named Wisma MATTA,
On the other hand, MATA was founded six years ago in 2019 and shares the same Seremban address as Housecoff Travel & Tours as listed by MOTAC, with Datuk Seri Dr H Mohd Khalid Harun as the president & CEO. Interestingly, Khalid served as MATTA president until 2013.
But on Sept 11, 2014, MATTA held an extraordinary general meeting which voted overwhelmingly to expel five of its members, including Khalid, who were office bearers of MATA for causing moral and material damage to MATTA.
MATA was registered as “Persatuan Agensi Pelancongan Malaysia” and the correct translation is Malaysia Tourism Agency Association and abbreviation MTAA. Both the above official Malay and English names are stated in its website mata.travel.

Instead of using MTAA, MATA was used to masquerade as MATTA and its popular MATTA Fairs.
Before the pandemic, there were more than 3,600 MATTA corporate members in 2019. MATTA’s website allows the public to verify all its members listed in “Member Directory”.
In contrast, MATA’s website has only four names, all from its “Executive Committee” and an occasion scheduled in 2022 is still listed under “Upcoming Events”. It appears there were hardly any activities in MATA, but claims to represent the majority of tourism players in Malaysia.
There are more than 10 travel associations in Malaysia listed in “Travel associations are one too many” published on May 28, 2020, which may provide an inkling as to why they were set up.
Are these trade bodies serving their industry or just a platform to draw attention and gain importance? 
YS Chan is master trainer for Mesra Malaysia and Travel and Tours Enhancement Course and an Asean Tourism Master Trainer. He is also a tourism and transport business consultant.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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