Special Flight on Malaysia Airlines Berhad’s Very First A350 XWB to Kota Kinabalu Sabah

YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah was the guest of honour aboard the special flight on Malaysia Airlines Berhad's very first A350 XWB from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu on 9 January 2018.
YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah menjadi tetamu khas sempena dengan Penerbangan Khas Kapal Airbus A350 XWB yang pertama  Malaysia Airlines Berhad dari Kuala Lumpur ke Kota Kinabalu pada 9 Januari 2018. 
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World Travel Market 2017

YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Envrionment Sabah led the delegates of World Travel Market 2017 together with Pn. Suzaini Ghani, Deputy General Manager of Sabah Tourism Board and Mr. Daniel Roman, Assistant Marketing Manager for Sabah Tourism Board which was held at United Kingdom on 6-8 November 2017. YB Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah mengetuai delegasi World Travel Market 2017 bersama-sama dengan Puan Suzaini Ghani, Timbalan Pengurus Besar Lembaga Pelancongan Sabah  dan En Daniel Roman, Pembantu Pengurus Pemasaran Lembaga Pelancongan Sabah yang telah diadakan di United Kingdom pada 6-8 November 2017.
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Unveiling the brand new Mercure Kota Kinabalu City Centre

Kota Kinabalu has long been a popular gateway for international travellers headed to the rainforests and pristine coral reefs of eastern Sabah and Borneo. This coastal city a short flight away from capital Kuala Lumpur, is home to the UNESCO World Heritage Mount Kinabalu, the fifth highest point in South-east Asia, and renowned for its indigenous tribes and cultural diversity, despite being one of Malaysia’s fastest growing cities. Only 15 minutes’ drive from Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Mercure Kota Kinabalu City Centre with its convenient access to and from the city’s major roads, banks, office complexes and the new Sabah International Convention Centre, is the ideal place for business travellers to base themselves. While leisure visitors will be thrilled with the walking distance to entertainment venues, eateries, shopping malls and tourists attractions. Just a stone’s throw away is the historical Jesselton Port with ferries to nearby islands, among them Pulau Sipadan which draws adventurous divers to its waters. The 4-star hotel offers a choice of 310 contemporary guest rooms comprising 135 Superior rooms, 40 executive suites and 135 suites in configurations of one-, two- and three-bedroom, spread over the 25-storey building with guests residing on the higher floors enjoying views of the ocean. Garth Simmons, Chief Operating Officer, AccorHotels for Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, says that “the opening of Mercure Kota Kinabalu City Centre strengthens our network in Malaysia, where we currently operate 16 hotels offering more than 5,000 rooms.” Of the 27 properties AccorHotels plans to open in Malaysia, adding some 8,400 rooms to our network over the next three years, three developments are in Sabah. For events, meetings, weddings or social gatherings, the hotel’s function room on the roof top, which also houses the hotel’s gym and swimming pool, features state-of- the- art audio visual equipment and can accommodate up to 40 guests. For those who wish to dine in, Maupassant offers all-day dining while Fratini’s serves a wide range of Italian favourites. Phileas Café in the lobby is another rest stop for a quick hearty meal, while the Compass Lounge on the rooftop is the perfect place for a leisurely wine and dine affair while admiring the ocean in the distant. Hotel General Manager Mr. Jacques Leizerovici, who fell in love with the city 11 years ago and stayed for good, says that “Mercure Kota Kinabalu City Centre is well positioned to cater to the needs of both business and leisure travellers, and the ideal location for social and corporate events. With the ambience and facilities offered within this hotel, we hope to achieve a standard of guest experience that surpasses others in this city.” From now until 31 December 2017, celebrate the opening of Mercure Kota Kinabalu City Centre with the opening special offer of MYR 245.30 ++ per night with breakfast in a Superior room. For reservations, email HA9416-RE@accor.com, call (+60)154876188, or for more information, visit http://www.mercure.com/9416 Source: Mercure Hotel
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27 films from 18 nations to be screened July 22-29

Kota Kinabalu: Movie buffs and cinema goers here can expect to enjoy quality, inspiring and fascinating international movies including from Malaysia when 27 films from 18 different countries will be screened at a MBO cinema at Imago Mall from July 22 until 29. Kota Kinabalu International Film Festival (KKIFF) 2017 is organising the movie screenings for the ninth time for city dwellers to watch all the movies for just RM10 per show except one Malaysian movie entitled Redha which will be screened on the opening night on July 22. Festival Director Jude Day said KKIFF is providing an even better selection of films including short films for the people here from throughout South-East Asia, Taiwan, Korea, the Philippines, Argentina, and the rest of the world to enjoy and gain educational experiences. She said the movie screenings of the 27 films are divided under two programmes namely Cinebalu (Cinema & Kota Kinabalu) movies that features 18 films where most are short films from nine Southeast Asian countries and world movie programmes featuring nine films from nine countries. "For this 9th KKIFF 2017, we have Malaysian films opening and closing our festival and these are both 'must-see' movies. "The first movie we are screening on the opening night is Redha which is about a Malay family with an autistic son where they struggle to confront the harsh realities of raising a child disabled by a condition they hardly know about. The father's inability to accept the truth causes friction in the family while the wife's perseverance and maternal instinct help her wade through the difficult time. "The best thing is that the film director Tunku Mona Riza will be here on the opening (July 22) and she wants to give a talk about the movie as well as to enhance awareness on autism at 4pm at Zara Boutique Hotel on the same day prior to a reception at 6pm at MBO cinema and screening of the movie at 7pm," she said. Jude said after the Malay movie, they will be screening a documentary film called 'The Promise' at 9pm which is a German-made film based on a true story in the United States where a young woman and her lover were accused of killing the woman's parents. She said both had been sentenced to jail for over 30 years and movie spectators get to see the actual film from the courtroom because this was the first court case in the United States that was allowed to be filmed. On the closing night, Jude said KKIFF will host the world premiere of a new, sophisticated and witty Malaysian comedy called Mencari Rahmat with its director Jafree Yusop who is currently working as a mentor with the Sabah Film Academy that is also part of the KKIFF. She said his film is based on a play by Oscar Wilde called The Importance of Being Earnest and Jafree spoke of the challenge in transforming Wilde's witty dialogue from English to Bahasa Melayu. Jude said all the movies have English subtitles and that complimentary tickets will be given if the movie goers bring a newspaper article about the KKIFF film screenings. "With just RM10 per ticket, the movie buffs get to enjoy three to six short films screened at 7pm like on July 24 and July 28 while some days will entail feature length films of over 90 minutes. "To find out about the rest of the movies at the KKIFF 2017, they can go to the KKIFF website (kkiff.com) and our Facebook page to see daily updates," she said. To a question, Jude said they purposely chose the two Malaysian movies for the opening and closing nights as both are really good Malaysian movies especially Redha that was chosen by Malaysia to be nominated for an Oscar as best foreign language movie and it depicts an important social issue where people should be aware about and understand about autism. According to her, KKIFF 2017 will also see the BUZZIO Filmmakers' Competition and the Sabah Film Academy (SFA) taking place again. She said the winning shots and the SFA short films will be screened on Awards Night which is free and open to everyone at 7pm on July 16. Also present were Sabah Tourism Board (STB) General Manager Gordon Yapp, Redha's editor Isazaly Isa, The Promise director of photography Georg Zengerling, scriptwriter cum director of Mencari Rahmat Jafree Yusop and other senior officials. - Hayati Dzulkifli Source: Daily Express
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