MELAKA: The Melaka government today issued a public apology on the viral issue of the construction of a Disneyland theme park and Disney City in the historic state.
State Tourism, Heritage, and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis said the construction of the theme park was still in the planning stage and no agreements or memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed.
He said the MoU signed last Tuesday between Metrolink Sdn Bhd and Menara Taming Sari Berhad was for the "Maglev transportation system" to connect all the tourist hotspots and destinations in the state, and not an MoU for the construction of Disneyland.
"But Metrolink has stated its future plans, as I spoke about earlier, of having a Disney City in Jasin. So it is a plan.
"We did not say anything about having an agreement or MoU with Disneyland in place. I can plan to build Burj Khalifa in Melaka tomorrow, but it does not mean that its owners and management will agree to such an idea.
"I would like to apologise for the confusion. Disney has a good reputation, and maybe due to excitement in wondering if a Disneyland in Melaka could become a reality, suddenly this Disneyland idea went 'out of proportion'.
"But we are just the ones planning. Perhaps this is why it went viral as though Disney had already agreed to it," he said at a press conference on the issue in Ayer Keroh earlier today.
Jailani said they did not publish anything about Disneyland, except for a video on the Maglev system during a press conference held earlier this week.
"We did showcase a video on the Maglev system, which is a train network system with no friction, no reliance on oil or lubricants, no noise and is in line with the green city concept mooted by the state government.
"So once again, I apologise for the confusion over Disney City or Disneyland. That is part of the company's plans in developing the Maglev system and if there is an opportunity, a chance for Disney to come in and open up a branch here, a mini-Disneyland," he said.
Jailani said the confusion was not a result of the earlier announcement that he made, but instead, an assumption made by other parties and quarters.
"I apologise because many people got the wrong impression, but I am not sure that I made a mistake. The company informed us of its intentions and plans to bring Disney here to Melaka.
"The speculation made was as though there was already an agreement in place. Is it wrong for me to plan ahead?"
Jailani said for now they had not sent an official letter of apology, but would consider it if needed.
"The state government has no intention of making up false news. We were just informed of the plan. I did not say we have already committed to it."
The news portal Melaka Hari Ini earlier reported that a Disneyland theme park and Disney City would be developed on 80.9ha of land in Jasin by 2027, and that it would be the biggest of such a theme park to be developed in Southeast Asia.
The development of such a theme park, which would have been the first in Southeast Asia, was estimated to cost RM2 billion.