A viral post by an Indonesian man on Threads sparked a discussion among social media users from both Indonesia and Malaysia recently.
In the post by Ken Hardi, he shared that he has been constantly bumping into Malaysian tourists in his home country recently and asked whether this was an indicator of the Malaysian economy flourishing.
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An Indonesian man asked whether the influx of Malaysian tourists in Indonesia is a sign of the Malaysian economy thriving
Ken Hardi noted how Malaysian tourists are seemingly everywhere in Indonesia, in malls, hotels and even on public transportation.
“Inside trains, there are a lot of Malaysian tourists. In malls, I met Malaysian tourists. Breakfast at the hotel, I met Malaysian tourists. Everywhere there are groups of Malaysian tourists,” he shared.
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He further revealed that he overheard one of the groups of Malaysian tourists saying that they wanted to try the high-speed railway from Jakarta to Bandung.
Dumbfounded by the influx of Malaysian tourists in his country, Ken Hardi asked,
“Does this mean that the Malaysian economy is thriving?”
Indonesians and Malaysians share their opinion
In the replies, many Threads users share their two cents on the matter. One Malaysian commenter said that one of the reasons why Malaysians like to visit Indonesia is that it’s ‘friendly’ to their wallets.
Meanwhile, another Malaysian netizen said that the country’s economy is doing okay. He added that it’s not as good as Singapore’s, but the Malaysian economy is doing well.
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Besides that, one Indonesian commenter chimed in, saying that while the Ringgit Malaysia’s strong performance against the Indonesian Rupiah is a factor, the influx of Malaysian tourists in Indonesia can be attributed to influencers on TikTok making places in the Republic viral.
Another Indonesian netizen welcomed Malaysian tourists to the country, saying that compared to tourists from certain countries, Malaysians are very polite.
However, one Indonesian commenter found Ken Hardi’s association of the influx of Malaysian tourists with a strong Malaysian economy to be rather flawed.
The user then put Ken Hardi’s statement in inverse to make a point, saying, “I went to Kuala Lumpur during school holidays and met Indonesian tourists, met Indonesian tourists in Genting Highlands. Went to Penang and still met Indonesian tourists. Does this mean the Indonesian economy is thriving?”.
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Well, the influx of Malaysian tourists in Indonesia should not come as a surprise. For context, Malaysians have consistently made up the highest number of foreign tourists in Indonesia every year.
So, what is your take on Ken Hardi’s post? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
