5th Session of the 13th State Legislative Assembly

5th Session of the 13th State Legislative Assembly YB Datuk Masidi Manjun attended the 5th Session of the 13th State Legislative Assembly which was on the 16th – 18th July 2012 at the Bangunan Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah. YB Datuk Masidi Manjun menghadiri Persidangan Dewan Undangan Negeri yang Ke-13, Penggal Ke-5 yang telah bermula dari 16 - 18 Julai 2012 bertempat di Dewan Undangan Negeri Sabah. 
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Sabah drafting environs policy

KOTA KINABALU: A STATE-LEVEL environmental policy is being drafted,  focusing on not only  enforcement  but also  creating an educated public. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said while many countries might have the laws, they don't guarantee no offences are committed. "You can have all the laws in the world, but if they are not followed, what good are they? The attitude must be that the people are obliged to be part of the enforcement. "What we want is an educated public who is not only (environmentally) aware but takes action to ensure enforcement is carried out," he said at the launch of a stakeholders' consultation workshop on the new policy here recently. Masidi also said the policy should be kept simple to enable the ordinary man to understand as well as make it easier to be implemented. He said an environmental policy was crucial to serve as a framework and guideline for decision-making in modernisation and industrialisation-related matters. He added that the new policy would be the state government's standard operating procedures. He was confident that it would be able to prevent, reduce and mitigate harmful effects on the environment and minimise any impact on humans. Masidi said the new policy would be based on five elements -- air, water, land, biodiversity and humans. The draft of the policy was expected to be completed by October. Source : New Straits Times
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10 festivals funded by ministry for RM700,000

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, through the Sabah Tourism Board, funded 10 annual festivals at the cost of RM700,000 at district level in the first half of this year. Assistant Minister Datuk Ellron Angin said as of last month, the ministry had contributed RM80,000 to assist in organising four festivals as requested by the districts. "In addition, the ministry also aided eight festivals at district level with a total allocation of RM210,250 last year," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Ramlee Marahaban (BN-Bugaya) yesterday. Ellron said the assistance was based on the impact of the festival through a set of criteria, including the ability of the festival to attract local and foreign tourists. "Apart from that, the generation of tourism revenue as well as the preservation of local culture and traditions were also considered." Meanwhile, Sabah Community Development and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun, when replying to a question by Ahmad Bujang (BN-Sindumin) on the setting up of the 1Malaysia People's Store in Sipitang, said several locations in the district had been identified after a visit by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry and Mydin. Bernama Source : New Straits Times
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Tourist Arrivals In Sabah Up 3.7 Per Cent In First Five Months Of 2012

KOTA KINABALU, July 16 (Bernama) -- The number of tourist arrivals in Sabah has shown an increase of 3.7 per cent in the first five months of this year over the figure in the same period last year. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said 1,134,149 tourist arrivals were recorded from January to May this year with RM2.02 billion in tourism receipts. "During this period, Sabah received 71,152 tourists from China including from Hong Kong and Macau. "This shows a positive growth of 41.4 per cent compared to the figure (50,304) during the same period last year," he said in reply to a question from Datuk Liew Teck Chan (SAPP-Likas) at the state assembly sitting, here, Monday. Masidi said it was estimated that tourists from China spent RM197 million in Sabah for the first five months of this year compared to RM139.3 million over the same period in 2011. Source : Bernama
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Sabah’s investments total RM23.9 billion since start of 10MP

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah has received investments of RM23.9 billion since the start of the 10th Malaysia Plan last year and until the first quarter of 2012. Sabah Minister of Industrial Development Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah said data from the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida) showed that of this amount, RM12.4 billion or 53 per cent was domestic investments, and the remaining RM11.4 billion from overseas. “The investments provided 14,674 job opportunities,” he added. He said this in reply to a question from Samsudin Yahya (UMNO-Sekong) in the Sabah State Assembly here today. Tan said for the state, six National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) had been identified, namely, tourism, oil and gas, oil palm, manufacturing and logistics, agriculture and education. He said apart from this, there were 31 Entry Point Projects (EPPs)identified to be implemented in Sabah, to raise the country’s income level and create widespread job opportunities in the state. “The EPPs involve an investment in the oil and gas sector of RM18.72 billion. The Gross National Income (GNI) for the country is expected to be RM12.8 billion, while providing about 23,119 jobs. “Seven EPPs have been identified for the oil and gas sector in Sabah, including the Sabah Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSGP) extension project to the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park (KKIP), the Kimanis Power Plant, Sabah Oil and Gas Terminal (SOGT), Sipitang Oil and Gas Industrial Park (SOGIP), Lahad Datu Re-Gasification Terminal, Lahad Datu Power Plant and Gas Separation Plant in Kimanis,” he added. He said for the oil palm sector, two EPPs had been identified, that is, the Beluran and Kemabong Agropolitan Project, as well as the Sabah Palm Oil Industrial Cluster (POIC) project at Lahad Datu and Sandakan with an investment of RM22.485 billion. “The GNI to be adduced from the project is RM8.766 billion and the oil palm sector will provide about 12,201 jobs,” he added. The manufacturing and logistics sector will witness the setting up of the Main Line Operator Set Up project in the Sepanggar Investment and the KKIP project, while the GNI from this is expected to be RM1.939 billion, with about 23,471 jobs offered. Tan said the projects and businesses identified will be developed by the private sector and also involves developing support industries such as spare parts supplies and small machines needed by the larger industries. He said the large investments in the state will also bring about the rapid development of luxury and medium cost homes. — Bernama Source : Borneo Post
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