Khairul Firdaus bin Akbar Khan (born 26 July 1983)[1] is a Malaysian politician who has served as the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture in the Unity Government administration under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Minister Tiong King Sing since December 2022 and the Member of Parliament (MP) for Batu Sapi since November 2022.
His proposal of turning Langkawi into a preferred tourism destination for Muslims has been controversial.
[3] On 24 June 2024, Khairul Firdaus made a speech in Parliament, proposing and claiming that his ministry would possibly turn and position Langkawi as a preferred tourism destination for Muslims, the adherents of the Islam religion who make up of the religious majority in the state of Kedah and nation of Malaysia.
The following day, Member of the Kedah State Executive Council (EXCO) in charge of Tourism, Culture and Entrepreneurship Mohd Salleh Saidin praised the proposal and stressing that it is in line with the plan of the '2025 Kedah Tourism Year'.
On 29 June 2024, Minister Tiong King Sing apologised to Malaysians for the statement by Khairul Firdaus, highlighting that no tourism destinations should be made to satisfy the needs of the followers of a single religion and that inclusivity was the key of cultural tourism strategy that must be upheld.