Kota Kinabalu: Kinabalu Running Club, the organisers of the Borneo International Marathon has postponed the event which was scheduled to be held on May 4-5. Race Director, Dr Heng Aik Cheng said in a statement: "It is with great regret and sadness that I write this letter. We received a letter from the Police advising us to postpone the Borneo International Marathon (BIM). We will advise everyone on the next date of the BIM which will be held in 2013. All entries will be deferred till then." He added: "The Committee understands the disappointment of participants and sponsors and we feel exactly the same way too. The stress, the hard work, and the time we have had to put in has resulted in tears and heart wrenching reflections of our volunteers, supporters and Committee. We have tried our best against all odds." Kinabalu Running Club expressed their gratitude to all our supporters, sponsors, the Police, Ministry of Sports, Ministry of Tourism and Kota Kinabalu City Hall for all their help and encouragement. Participants who have registered may still collect their race pack at 6th floor Suria Sabah Wednesday till Saturday between 10am to 6pm. For more updates, please check their Facebook page and the website at www.borneomarathon.com.

TAWAU: Tourism Malaysia's domestic promotion division yesterday launched the "Sabah, Sandakan & Tawau Tour Packages" as an initiative to promote the destinations to domestic travellers after the Lahad Datu incident. Under the initiative, 10 destination packages in Sandakan and Tawau were created. They were jointly launched by the division's director, Musa Yusof, and Tawau Municipal Council president Datuk Ismail Mayakob. "Some of the packages created include the 4 days-3 nights 'Return of the Planet of the Apes' in Sandakan and the 4 days-3 nights 'Finding Nemo & Dory' in Mabul Island. "The packages were named after popular movies as people tend to remember famous movies more," Musa said at the launch. He said Sandakan and Tawau were blessed with natural wealth, namely Sukau-Kinabatangan, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Selingan Island in Sandakan, Tawau Hills Park, Teck Guan Cocoa Museum and Village, Mabul, Kapalai, Mataking and Sipadan Islands in Semporna, adding that these attractions were the backbone of Sabah's tourism industry. Musa said Tourism Malaysia was confident in achieving the Sabah Tourism Board's target of two million domestic arrivals this year, although there was a slight decrease in arrivals in the January-February period this year compared with the same period last year. He said the Tourism Ministry, Tourism Malaysia and other relevant agencies had taken proactive action in addressing this issue, such as setting up dialogues and the Sabah Tourism Task Force on March 18 to counter the negative impact of the Lahad Datu incident. Musa added that domestic tourists had spent about RM42.3 billion in 2011, which was an increase of 21.9 per cent, compared with RM34.7 billion in the same period in 2010. Bernama Source: New Straits Times  

With key programmes aimed at boosting edu­cation and rural devel­opment gaining pace, Sabah’s government will be hoping that its move to calm investors by setting up a regional security zone following an incursion in February proves effective. On March 28, Kuala Lumpur approved an initial allocation of RM200 million (US$64.76 million) to fund the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (Ess-zone), which was put in place a week earlier to protect the area from further intrusions in the wake of an offensive launched by Philippines-based rebels. Officials said they were prepar­ing to purchase unmanned aerial vehicles, attack helicopters and speedboats. Once fully imple­mented, the Ess-zone is expected to send out a message of reassur­ance to investors and tourists, although experts remain divided on the long-term impact the in­cursion could have on Sabah’s economy. A total of 24 development projects worth nearly RM1 billion (US$0.32 billion) are currently under construction as part of the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) initiative, led by the RM247 million (US$80 million) Palm Oil Industrial Cluster, which is being rolled out in Sandakan. “Setting up the Ess-zone will definitely boost the security level in east Sabah in the best possible manner,” Chief Minister Musa Aman told local media in March. “This will simultaneously uplift the confidence of tourists and foreign investors to visit and carry out economic activities in Sabah.” The leadership will also be keen to relay recently published data on the Government Transforma­tion Programme (GTP), which indicates that its commitment to modernising Sabah is producing results. Under the GTP, 1,900 kilometre (km) of roads are set to be built throughout Sabah and Sarawak. Public transport is earmarked for an overhaul, and pre-school edu­cation will also receive a boost. Although the government schemes are spearheading much of the new development, an Invest­ment Incentive Package for the SDC, which was given the green light last December, is set to pave the way for the private sector to play a greater role in driving economic growth. The package aims to boost investment in tourism, manu­facturing, agriculture and major industries. The incentives included full tax exemption on statutory income for up to 10 years and an investment tax allowance of 100 per cent on qualifying capital expenditure for five years. Under current policy, the state also offered full exemp­tion on import duty and sales tax exemption, local media said. The state’s leaders expected Sabah’s gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to increase three-fold on the back of the SDC, with total growth forecast to quadruple by 2025. Sabah has notched up about RM114 billion (US$36.92 billion) in investment since the initiative was launched in 2008. However, there were fears that investment levels could fall follow­ing February’s incursion. Malaysian Rating Corpora­tion’s chief economist, Nor Zahidi Alias, acknowledged tourism and retail could experience fall-out from the conflict, but said Sabah would likely ride out any turbu­lence long term. “My feeling is that the cur­rent incidents will not have a significant impact on the state’s economy as (this event) was a localised problem. As long as it doesn’t lead to a contagion effect, it will not have an adverse effect on the state’s economy,” he told Malaysian newspaper The Star on March 8. Experts such as CIMB Invest­ment Bank’s economic research head, Lee Heng Guie, however, remained more cautious. “There will likely be some impact on the sectors that Sabah has been leveraging on but it’s hard to quantify at this point,” he told the newspaper. Optimists viewed the Ess-zone, which would cover the 10 districts of Kudat, Kota Marudu, Pitas, Be­luran, Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna and Tawau, as a well-aimed re­sponse from the government that was likely to bring wide-sweeping benefits to the areas. The member of parliament (MP) for Silam, Salleh Kalbi, told local media that the security zone would boost property prices, cre­ate jobs and ease any concerns among tourists, particularly in the Lahad Datu area where the incursion took place. “After Eastern Sabah Security Command, I am confident the tourist arrivals (in Lahad Datu) will increase as they will feel safer,” he said. Ess-zone is expected to play a key part in shoring up confidence among investors. However, the government will need to ensure it maintains the focus on private sector initiatives while pushing ahead with its se­curity efforts, since these will be instrumental in steering Sabah’s long-term growth.