After news broke that a Disneyland or Disney City Theme Park will be built in the state of Melaka, everyone was quick to voice their thoughts on the ambitious project. Some were excited by the news as they wouldn’t have to travel to another country to visit the “happiest place on earth”.
Others were not so convinced and speculated how this could be fake news, or simply a misunderstanding. After the announcement went viral, local and international news outlets tried to reach out to Disney to confirm the news – and it looks like we finally got our answer.
Heather Chen, a CNN reporter covering Southeast Asian news, tweeted that Disney officials confirmed that there are no plans to build a Disneyland or Disney City theme park in Melaka, Malaysia, quoting “Not true. It’s fake news and purely speculative.” The reporter apparently reached out to Disney to verify the news and even deleted an earlier tweet linking back to the announcement.
Heather then tweeted that the announcement by local officials was misunderstood and highlighted the quote from State Tourism, Heritage and Culture Exco member, Datuk Muhammad Jailani. She cleared the confusion by pointing out that the Exco member wanted to do a theme park project that will be big enough to attract Disney’s attention.
Heather later clarified that the previous tweet was removed as requested by Disney. As much as we would want a Disneyland theme park to be built in our own backyard, perhaps Melaka may not be the most suitable location.
