Salang Sayang Resort was bombarded with comments and bad reviews from frustrated SPM candidates. — Picture via Instagram/ Google review
PETALING JAYA, Feb 23 — A local resort in Pulau Tioman has been bombarded with comments and bad reviews from frustrated Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) candidates.
This, after the resort’s name, Salang Sayang Resort, was mentioned in one of the SPM listening tests, which has left many SPM candidates to misinterpret the correct pronunciation.
Frustrated, some of the candidates have left a bombardment of bad reviews on the resort’s Google review page along with the comment sections of its social media pages.
Although the act was condemned by many social media users, the owner of the resort, Nadiah Tuan Rozaimon Azam, has taken the comments and bad reviews with a positive attitude.
“At first I was confused as to why we’ve been getting sudden comments on our posts until one of the SPM students explained to me via Instagram that it was regarding their Bahasa Malaysia listening test.
A screenshot of some of the reviews left by the frustrated SPM candidates on Salang Sayang Resort’s Google review page.
“In the test, the students were given a story to listen to, and this particular story involved a character named Iman who went on a vacation with her family in Pulau Tioman and stayed at Salang Sayang Resort, this is where the confusion comes in.
“Many candidates have misheard our resort’s name with some confusing it with ‘Salam Dayang’, ‘Salam Layang’ and some even heard ‘Sembahyang Resort’. I was actually entertained by these answers in the comment section,” Nadiah told Malay Mail.
Nadiah added that ever since her resort’s name went viral on Monday, she also has been getting calls and messages from SPM candidates.
“We’ve been receiving calls and bookings even before our name went viral but since Monday, we’ve been getting even more calls and messages but this time from SPM candidates which has caused my phone to hang.
“Some of them were mad and some even jokingly asked me to change our resort’s name to what they’ve answered in their test,” Nadiah said, adding that she even poke some fun with the candidates on Instagram.
When asked about the bad reviews and how it could affect her resort, Nadiah said that the reviews didn’t bother her that much as she understood that students were frustrated, and their emotions had led them to leaving those reviews.
“Looking at the bright side of it, Alhamdulillah, we see this as a gift from Allah as previously nobody knew about our existence.
“Now, quite a lot of people know about our resort in Pulau Tioman,” she said, adding that she might even consider putting up a promotion package for SPM candidates.
A quick check on Salang Sayang Resort’s Google review page today, revealed that the bad reviews have been removed.
The name Salang actually came from the name of a village on the island where the resort is located.
The Salang Sayang Resort has been operating on Pulau Tioman since 1981 and has been a tourism destination for beach activities such as snorkelling, fishing, and diving.