
Off the Books
Playing to old anxieties about an insurgency that ended more than three decades ago, Malaysia’s government has moved to suppress two books on the history of a communist guerrilla movement.

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (馬來西亞旅遊業協會), or MATTA, was founded in 1975 and serves as the national umbrella representative body for the travel industry in Malaysia. It works closely with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia and the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board, and organizes fairs, seminars, conventions, and workshops to promote the industry and benefit its members. MATTA’s membership comprises over 2,900 local tour and travel organizations as well as overseas affiliations, with state chapters across Malaysia. Its flagship event, the MATTA Fair, is a major biannual consumer travel exhibition held in Kuala Lumpur. In May 2026, MATTA signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sichuan International Communication Center (四川國際傳播中心), or SICC, covering joint promotional activities, tourist referrals, and resource co-development.
