The subsidiary of Camps International celebrated its fifth collaborative year with Partners of Community Organisations (PACOS Trust) on Friday, with its vision of promoting peace and unity among indigenous communities.

Melanie Chu, the general manager of Camp Borneo, which is under Camps International (Asia), said they were raising funds to aid PACOS Trust by allocating STG1 (RM4.61) from the daily expenses of each visitor to their camps.

“We put it into a fund for PACOS Trust and it is handed to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) to be used for various projects in Sabah. Camps International (Asia) provides long-term support to complement the NGO’s work through our capacity-building resources.

“We help receive visitors to each of our community project sites, facilitate their introduction to the indigenous people, their culture and lifestyle, and later, provide supervision and guidance for building projects that may be implemented for the community,” said Melanie, who presented a mock cheque to PACOS Trust for RM40,272 at the latter’s office here in aid of its ongoing efforts yesterday.

Camps International (Asia) and PACOS Trust have set up four camps in Sabah — Tinangol (Kudat), Kipouvo (Penampang), Mantanani (Kota Belud) and Bongkud (Ranau).

PACOS Trust is a community-based voluntary organisation set up to help raise the quality of life of indigenous communities.

Its executive director, Anne Lasimbang, said the assistance from Camp Borneo had helped it raise the profile and improve the livelihood of the local indigenous people.

She said PACOS Trust hoped to provide more educational resources in rural areas, especially for children, as well as projects to help improve the income of families.

Source: New Straits Times

Star Cruises travel service assistant vice president (Sabah operation), Edward Johann Leong said the winners will be tourism ambassadors for Star Cruises throughout the year.

“Kaamatan is a major celebration in Sabah, while Unduk Ngadau is the highlight of the event. We have seen the transformation of the beauty pageant into a higher level, where the selection of our Unduk Ngadau is now focusing on beauty with brains,” he said.

“There are many Unduk Ngadau winners having carved their names in the national level such as Daphne Iking and Jo-Anna Sue Henley Rampas, and we can see the quality of the women in Sabah. We want to be part of the women’s development in the state and appreciate them with what we have in our company,” Leong told a press conference recently.

He said the total sponsorship from Star Cruises this year is more than RM150,000, including lucky draws for guests at the Gala Night.

The first, second and third winners in the State Unduk Ngadau pageant will be receiving a 4 Days 3 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Penang-Phuket-Singapore), while the fourth and fifth place winners will receive a 4 Days 3 Nights Super Libra package for two (Penang-Phuket-Krabi-Penang).

The sixth place winner will be given a 3 Days 2 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Redang-Singapore) with two return tickets from Kota Kinabalu.

The seventh place winner will be receiving a 3 Days 2 Nights Super Star Virgo package for two (Singapore-Melaka-Singapore) with two return tickets to Singapore.

2013 State Unduk Ngadau organizing chairperson Joanna Kitingan said the organizing committee for the beauty pageant welcomes the support of Star Cruises to sponsor the traditional event, and she hoped this could continue in future.

“We are thankful to the sponsorship we receive from Star Cruises, not only for the winners and lucky draws, but also the cash vouchers which will be given to the guests who bought their tables during the Gala Night.

“Sponsorship is important for Unduk Ngadau as the competition is attracting more tourists to learn about our culture and traditions,” she said.

Source: Borneo Post

Newly reappointed Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun said tourist arrivals to Sabah for the first quarter of this year increased by five per cent to 718,626 from 684,546 in 2012.

“It is unfortunate that the Lahad Datu incident had in many ways affected the confidence of tourists to travel to Sabah, resulting in heavy cancellations and changes to tourist travel plans. Some have suffered heavy losses due to the cancellation which was taken arising from various travel advisories advising tourists not to travel to Sabah or even Borneo.

“We are lucky that the unfortunate incident did not prolong following the active action taken by the government of Malaysia. I am very confident that the tourism industry will bounce back after the incident to even to a higher level than what we had achieved before,” he said.

Masidi also revealed that visitors from China accounted for the highest number of tourist arrivals in Sabah, with the figures in the first quarter this year showing a big increase of 79.2 per cent to 81,251 from last year’s 45,350. Chinese visitors include tourists from Hong Kong and Macau.

Korean tourists from South Korea accounted for the second highest number of arrivals at 27,665 during the period from January to March this year, which was an increase of 41.3 per cent from 19,567 last year.

Japan is third with 6,575 visitors recorded in the first three months of 2012 to 7,949 this year, recording an increase of 20.9 per cent.

Masidi also said the Europe market also showed positive growth, showing an increase of 4.3 per cent from 19,804 last year to 20,661 this year.

Masidi said this in the presence of several travel agents at the MASwings Top Agent Award 2012 Gala Dinner at Magellan Sutera Harbour on Thursday night.

As the main airline operating in Sabah and Sarawak, Masidi said MASwings plays a dominant role in shaping the future of tourism industry in the region.

He added that with its operation covering almost all major and secondary cities in Sabah, Sarawak, Brunei and Indonesia, it is without doubt that MASwings is the most preferred airline in the region.

“The future of tourism industry relies on travel and tour agents to work together with the airlines and other tourism players to introduce innovative products to promote Sabah to the rest of the world.

“In today’s environment, competition amongst key tourist destinations is intense and very challenging. I urge all of you to integrate your efforts and form a formidable alliance to attract more and more tourists to Borneo and in particular to Sabah and Sarawak,” he said.

During the event, Masidi handed over Platinum, Gold and Silver awards to 19 Sabah and Sarawak-based companies which made millions of Ringgit through MASwings packages.

Source: Borneo Post

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun presenting an award to one of the award recipient during the MASWing Top Agent Award 2013 which was held at the Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort on the 16th of May 2013. Also seen in the photo is YBhg Dato’ Captain Mohd Nawawi Hj Awang as the Chief Executive Officer of MASWings.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun menyampaikan anugerah kepada salah seorang penerima anugerah sempena dengan acara MASWing Top Agent Award 2012 yang telah diadakan di Magellan Sutera Harbour Resort pada 16 Mei 2013. Turut kelihatan adalah YBhg Dato’ Kapten Mohd Nawawi Hj Awang selaku Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif MASWings.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun and YBhg Dato’ Captain Mohd Nawawi Hj Awang together with the award recipients that night.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun dan YBhg Dato’ Kapten Mohd Nawawi Hj Awang mengambil gambar kenangan bersama-sama dengan para pemenang anugerah malam tersebut.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun received a courtesy visit from Datuk David Chua Ming Huat, President of Genting/ Star Cruise at the Sabah Tourism Board office on the 15th of May 2013. Also present were two assistant ministers of Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, YB Datuk Pang Yuk Ming and YB Datuk Kamarlin Hj Ombi.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun menerima kunjungan hormat daripada Datuk David Chua Ming Huat selaku Presiden Genting / Star Cruise bertempat di pejabat Lembaga Pelancongan Sabah pada 15 Mei 2013. Turut hadir adalah dua Pembantu Menteri di Kementerian Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah iaitu YB Datuk Pang Yuk Ming dan YB Datuk Kamarlin Hj Ombi.

YB Datuk Masidi Manjun yang telah dilantik semula sebagai Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah memperkenalkan 2 Pembantu Menteri yang baru di Kementerian Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah iaitu YB Datuk Pang Yuk Ming (2 dari kanan) dan YB Datuk Kamarlin Hj Ombi (kiri) bertempat di Pejabat Lembaga Pelancongan Sabah pada 15 Mei 2013 ketika mesyuarat pasca kabinet kementerian tersebut. Turut kelihatan adalah Setiausaha Tetap Kementerian iaitu Datuk Michael Emban (kanan).

“With the reappointment of Datuk Masidi as the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, we can expect him to continue to support the conservation efforts and  continue to stand on the various issues  that affect the tourism industry and its sustainability,” he said.

Tan said the tourism industry faced many challenges in recent years, from  economic crisis to disease epidemic, natural disasters  and suspension of direct flights amongst others. The most recent case was the intrusion of armed terrorists to Kg Tandua that  adversely impacted  the industry.

He said that the challenges and obstacles  were overcome in the best way possible with the help of the government and the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment.

Tan also said that Datuk Masidi’s relentless efforts  in boosting tourism arrivals and foreign exchange earnings over the last few years shows his commitment towards the tourism industry in Sabah.

Last year, Sabah managed to achieve tourism arrivals numbering  2,875,761 million and a record tourism earnings of RM5,178 billion.

“Datuk Masidi has proven to be proactive in providing helpful assistance  and guidance for the private sector to overcome external challenges,” he said.

Tan also hopes that the travel industry and  the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment will continue to work closely to further develop tourism in Sabah.

“I hope that we will continue to solve the problems that are inherent in the industry and move forward to establish more tourism infrastructure in the State to tap the tourism potential,” he said.

Source : Insight Sabah

The Society yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Malaysian arm of the Canada-based company to jointly carry out a campaign to promote awareness on mangrove conservation among the younger generation.

Under the MoA, SWCS will receive funding from Talisman Malaysia Limited (TML) for two projects, namely Paper Making and Clothes Dying.

The projects will engage young pupils and students from schools across the State in a fun, out-of-the-classroom activities where they will create and use products made from mangrove trees.

SWCS president, Zaini Aucasa, said after the signing that the programmes were aimed to expose and educate the younger generation about the importance of the wetland ecosystem and the increasingly urgent need to conserve them.

“Talisman will provide the funding and our role under the MoA is to ensure that the projects are fully implemented as planned to meet their objectives.

“We want the students to be actively involved, not just be a passive recipient in learning about the mangrove ecosystem. We want them to see the importance of the mangrove environmentally, and how we can conserve while at the same time utilize the wetland sustainably for economic benefits, and we want them to do this through participation in a hands-on project,” added Zaini.

The signing was held in conjunction with the launch of Talisman-sponsored “Handicrafting From Mangrove Project”, a programme involving over 250 secondary school students in and around Kota Kinabalu organized by SWCS.

The launch was held at the Kota Kinabalu Wetland Centre in Teluk Likas as part of SWCS World Earth Day celebration, and was officiated by Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, representing the permanent secretary to the Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Michael Emban.

Senior Vice-President and Country Manager, Ron Aston, represented TML at the launch and the MoA signing.

In his speech at the launch, Aston revealed that apart from SWCS, TML has collaborated with the Malaysia Nature Society in the last two years, to monitor changes in marine and coastal ecosystems in Terengganu and Sabah.

He said Talisman had contributed more than RM330,000 for the project, which involved villagers from Kampung Meruntum in Putatan, local district councils, various government agencies as well as experts from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS).

As a demonstration of its commitment towards getting young Sabahans into the oil and gas industry, he said, Talisman will also be offering several scholarships to local undergraduates at UMS starting this year.

“In addition we are also looking at possibilities of sponsoring trainee technicians from Sabah to pursue certified courses so that they can be considered as operation technicians at our offshore facilities,” he added.

Talisman has been operating mainly in Peninsular Malaysia for over 12 years and recently expanded its wings to Sabah after acquiring two offshore blocks from PETRONAS in 2009.

In December last year, it successfully took over operatorship and began production operation at the Kinabalu Oil Field, which saw the consequent setting up of its area office in Kota Kinabalu.

Source: Borneo Post

“Honorary wildlife wardens” from local communities will be tasked with checking for illegal activities such as encroachment on reserves, illegal logging and hunting along the river.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said the unit will complement efforts of his department as their resources were insufficient to cover the whole state.

He said the River Keeper Unit would assist in monitoring wildlife as well as threats to wildlife along the river and within the LKWS.

The unit is headed by community members Mohd Syafendy Yajit and Sudirman Sawang, who are well suited for the job as both have years of experience working with the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Programme under HUTAN, a French NGO involved in conservation activities.

HUTAN’s scientific director Dr Marc Ancrenaz said that the local wardens also had a lot of field experience with elephants.

“The unit will conduct day and night patrols to monitor and prevent illegal activities such as encroachment in riparian reserves, illegal logging and hunting along the 260 kms of river within the LKWS, from Lokan to Abai villages,” Dr Acrenaz added.

The River Keeper Unit was established jointly by the Wildlife department, HUTAN and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) and is being funded by Elephant Family and the Kinabatangan-Corridor of Life Tourism Operators Association (KiTA).

The River Keeper Unit will be based at the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) in Kinabatangan and will also monitor tourism activities along the Kinabatangan river, stopping any boats getting too close to the elephants.

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said although tourism can boost economic development, ill-managed activities could also be a nuisance to elephants and their habitat.

“With this in mind, one of the major roles of the River Keeper Unit will be to investigate elephant responses to tourism activities along the Kinabatangan and to come up with wildlife-watching guidelines that will be provided to the different tour operators in the Kinabatangan with the goal of minimizing tourism disturbance for wildlife,” he said.

Source : The Star