(June 25): Newly-appointed Tourism Malaysia chairman Wee Choo Keong has called those questioning his recent appointment "sour grapes".

The former PKR-turned independent lawmaker said he should be given time to prove himself before being judged.

"No, this is what you called sour grapes. It's all a case of sour grapes," he told The Malaysian Insider when asked if his appointment were related to his pro-Barisan Nasional stand.

"It doesn't matter to me. Let's judge me later. I will do my best."

The 61-year-old was appointed to the post by Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz on June 17, taking over from Nazri's predecessor Tan Sri Ng Yen Yen.

His contract is for two years.

Wee was formerly the Wangsa Maju MP and had changed opposition parties before going independent.

He was first elected as the DAP MP for Kuala Lumpur Bandar (now called Bukit Bintang) in 1990 but was removed from his seat after a court case. He was dismissed from the opposition party eight years later and formed the Malaysian Democratic Party.

He lost in the 2004 election and joined PKR in 2008, winning the Wangsa Maju seat in the election that year. He then left PKR in 2010 and became a "BN-friendly independent".

The lawyer did not contest in the last polls in 2013.

Wee said he was "pleasantly surprised" with his appointment and thanked Nazri for having trust in him.

"I promise I will give my all to Malaysia and the ministry," he said.

Asked for the reasons behind his appointment, he replied that the question should be referred to Nazri.

"He has his own ideas and reasons. I will do my best," he added.

Wee, however, is raring to go in his new job, pledging to change the mindsets of Malaysians on how they view and treat tourists.

"We have to treat the tourists as customers and not as commodity for us to make excessive profit. So, we have to be extra hospitable to them," he said.

He cited taxi drivers as an example of where there is a need to inculcate new values and improvement on its services, and this includes the ability to converse well and enhance the condition of taxis. – The Malaysian Insider