KUALA LUMPUR: Questions arise over the accuracy of claims by Melaka exco for Tourism, Heritage and Culture that a Disneyland and Disney City will be built in Jasin.
Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis was quoted by Melaka Hari Ini, a state newspaper, saying that Disneyland and Disney City, the first in Asean, will be built on 80.9ha of land in the district in 2027.
However, Heather Chen from CNN said the news was fake.
In her earlier Tweet, which was later deleted under the order of Disney, Chen said that Disney officials have confirmed: "Not true. It's fake news and purely speculative."
In her second post, she said: "The original clarification I made from reaching out and reporting still stands. There are no official plans for a Disney-themed park in Melaka, earlier reports were purely speculative and misinformed."
New Straits Times has reached out to Jailani for clarification on the matter and he replied in short; "Tomorrow at 10am, the Tourism Promotion Division will issue a press statement."
In the Melaka Hari Ini report published on Tuesday, Jailani said: "After more than 20 years, we will have a new theme park. Even though it is not that big, I feel it is enough with Disneyland's 'name'.
"It will help us to hit our target of 20 million tourists within three years and back to the original track of 18.7 million tourists that we achieved in 2019.
"(Having) Disneyland is in the planning. We are still planning on the possibility of it being in the Jasin district.
"We cannot reveal the exact location but the area is between 60.7 and 80.9ha."
An excerpt from a video taken from the press conference held on Tuesday saw Jailani as saying: "So, I want the people to come to Melaka to have options. Other than A'Famosa, they can go to Disneyland to sleep, relax and have fun there.
"The land size is enough for us to call it Disney City. If Disneyland, we need massive land. We need to be cautious and not expand it too fast.
"The most important thing is that within the size, people can enjoy their time there."