26May

Cherie wins Sabah Design Competition

Kota Kinabalu: For her design "Rewoven", designer Cherie Gregory, who is currently working in London, bagged the first prize of RM2,000, Life Membership to the KadazanDusun Cultural Association (KDCA) and a hand-beaded memento in the lst Sabah Design Competition with the theme "Portraying Kadazandusun Culture from Traditional to Contemporary Design". Her aunty Mary Goretti collected the prize on her behalf from the Chairperson of KDCA Women's Council, Joanna Datuk Kitingan at the prize-giving ceremony held at the Sabah Art Gallery, Monday. Cherie said of her winning creation: "Traditional Sabahan handicrafts' vibrant colours and woven patterns inspired me to create a modern homewares range. The Traditional Kain Dastar patterns have been reimagined as a modern, bold tile style fabric, digitally printed and brought up to date. "I also found inspiration in the tungkup baskets, with my patterns echoing the vibrantly dyed bamboo weaving. I find a connection to my heritage by interlinking my family's historical handicraft technique with modern design." Kitingan said the Women's Council will be taking Cherie's designs and working with traditional weavers and basket makers to produce a series of craft objects. "In this way, a connection will be made with traditional weavers to help provide them with a sustainable income as well as provide the designer with a percentage of the profit." Three highly commended winners, who received a cash prize of RM200 each, were designer Alesia Adrian Goinipison (Rekaan Baju Tradisis Dusun Tambunan), designers Nursiah and Nursineh Tamsir (Wakid Lamp), and designer Mary Joan B. Puvok (Tomboboizungon Do Bambarayon). The KDCA Women's Council in partnership with Sabah Art Gallery and Sabah Cultural Board launched the Design Competition a year ago. "We are devoted to the task of preserving, developing and promoting Kadazandusun culture. Through the 1st Sabah Design Competition, we are celebrating contemporary Kadazandusun design. It's amazing what Sabah's young designers can create," Kitingan said, adding that 65 entries were received since the launch. The competition was championed by Minister of Culture, Environment and Tourism, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun who encouraged the Council to find Sabah's design talent and support Kadazandusun Culture. Sabahan YouTube icon Adam Shamil and KDCA Women's Council member Shelley Jolison promoted the competition through a video produced by Vinoun Films (owned by KDCA Women's Council member Rachel Ongkili). Design Competition Organising Chairpersons, Jo Luping and Shelley Jolison, said the competition was created to find and license Sabah designers' work and then produce ranges of handicraft products that would be made by our local Kadazandusun artisans. "In this way, the KDCA Women's Council hopes to work towards achieving its goals, which are to preserve and promote Kadazandusun culture and to provide sustainable income for Kadazandusun women," they said. The judges were three of Sabah's most renowned individuals from the creative sector - Jennifer Linggi (Director and Manager of Sabah Art Gallery), I-Lann Yee (internationally renowned artist whose work has been exhibited widely in museums and biennials around the world) and Teo Zye Keun (Brand designer and Illustrator, former President of Visual Communication Association (2014-2015), Co-Founder & Director at Generator Creative Studio and Asgardian School of Art). Entries were judged on Technical Skill/Craftsmanship (20pc), Originality/Creativity/Innovation (40pc), Portrayal of KDM Culture (30pc) and Presentation (10pc). According to the judges, the concepts and research that the participants presented were by and large well thought through and with some additional work on them they could be considered by the Women's Council to also be licensed and turned into products. "In design, a major part of the process is going back and refining and then refining again," they commented. Source: Daily Express
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26May

KK set to hold inaugural tourism conference during peak of Kaamatan

KOTA KINABALU: The inaugural International Conference on Spirituality, Culture and Sustainable Tourism, to be held here this year, will coincide with the culmination of the Kaamatan or ‘Harvest Festival’ – making for a busy tourism-themed week for the city. The conference, which will run from May 29 to June 2, will see the assembly of local and foreign delegates on one platform to discuss and promote spiritual and sustainable tourism. Organized by the Kadazandusun Cultural Association (KDCA) and its university partners Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Sabah and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the conference will afford delegates the opportunity to experience Kaamatan – the Kadazandusun’s month-long harvest celebration which will reach its apex at the Hongkod Koisaan KDCA building in Penampang on May 30 and 31. During a press conference on the festival, Huguan Siou (Kadazandusun paramount leader) Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said that there are still many undiscovered attractions in remote locations of Sabah. “We have been blessed that tourist (arrivals), like those from China, are on the rise despite untoward incidents in the past, as they know that Sabah has many interesting elements. “Now, we need to engage our youth to appreciate our natural beauty so that they can help with tourism initiatives,” said the Deputy Chief Minister. He said that youngsters could play their part in adding value to tourism packages, whether they include cultural, arts or nature-based attractions. Source: New Straits Times
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26May

Sisterhood pact between rural villages in Sabah and Japan proposed

TUDAN (Kiulu): Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai has suggested the establishment of sisterhood pact between strategic rural villages in Sabah and Japan. He said such a sisterhood pact would allow greater people-to-people interaction and cooperation between Sabah and Japan, especially involving rural folks. In an immediate reaction, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) chief representative in Malaysia, Kojiro Matsumoto, said the proposal is worth looking into. “We are always ready to explore any new initiative that could further enhance the existing close people-to-people ties between Japan and Sabah,” Matsumoto said. Speaking at the closing of a JICA-SDBEC pilot project on sustainable agriculture and ecosystem protection here, Joniston also noted that fostering people-to-people cooperation and understanding is the main objective of JICA Supporting the proposal, a local from Tudan, Jenius Gadiman, went a step further by suggesting a sisterhood pact between Tudan and Toyooka, a rural village about 400km from Tokyo. Gadiman, a teacher, who was selected for a three-week familiarisation visit to Japan last year under the auspices of JICA, said he had the opportunity of touring Toyooka and noticed that the village has some similarity with Tudan in the aspect of agro-tourism. “Toyooka, though a rural village, is more advance in the agro-tourism development than Tudan, but we are not that far behind,” he said, adding that the people from the two villages have much to learn from each other which would be made possible through a sisterhood pact. Tudan is a rural village nestled on the slopes of a valley along the crocker range about 60km from Kota Kinabalu. On the JICA-SDBEC project, Joniston, who is also Kiulu assemblyman, believes that its impact in the long run is enormous in terms of economically empowering the people of Tudan. The four-year pilot project, among others, involves mullberry cultivation and bee keeping which has begun to bring economic benefits to the rural community. “Some of us have started to produce various mullbery-based products, such as wine and tea,” said Tudan Village Community Development and Security Committee chairperson Emmelyice Sirinus. A community cooperative has been set up with the help of Universiti Malaysia Sabah, a key driver in the implementation of the pilot project, to market the village agro-tourism products. Source: Borneo Post
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26May

3,000 expected to join first Sabah e-sports tournament

Kota Kinabalu: Youths can go a long way in the electronic sports or e-Sports industry which has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Chief Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan, believes it can also change their minds if put to good use. "The State Government has and will continue to support and prioritise youth development programmes which can particularly enhance the talents of our youths," he said at the Borneo e-Arena media conference, here, Thursday. "Some may say that e-sports is not good for our children's mind, especially those still schooling, but if we look at it from another angle, e-sports is one of the closest and easiest medium for youths to get involved in," he said. "They have a variety of options to engage their talents in, whether through computer games, game consoles or though mobile games. "I believe e-sports can actually change the minds of youths if used as a right platform. It can be used not only to pass time but even get acquainted with new friends, share ideas and strategies. They can even generate lucrative income through various existing channels," he said. He said gamers should not be left out and instead should be educated on how to develop their minds and be given more exposure to the outside world. "The event organiser, through the Borneo E-Arena, not only offers that exposure to our youths, but also motivates them to venture into cyberspace," he said. The Borneo e-Arena, organised by PNM Ideas Sdn Bhd and supported by the State Government, Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Sabah Tourism, is the biggest and first e-sport tournament to be held in Sabah. The tournament will feature most played games in the world such as Mobile Legend, Dota 2, Fifa 17, Overwatch and more, with the finals scheduled to be held at Centre Point Shopping Complex from Sept 16 to Sept 17. A total of 3,000 gamers from across the country as well as from other Southeast Asian countries are expected to take part in the tournament which will begin its online elimination matches on July 27. The tournament offers a RM100,000 prize pool, to be won with a RM20,0000 first prize for the Mobile Legend champion, which is also open to Southeast Asian gamers. Dota 2, Fifa 17 and Overwatch which are only open to Malaysian gamers offer RM7,000, RM7,000 and RM3,000 respectively as top prize. Pocket games will also be opened for visitors with RM500 going to the top scorer. Those who wish to know more and to register can visit them at www.borneoearena.com. - Sherell Ann Jeffrey Source: Daily Express
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22May

Tourism tax to be collected in Keningau from July 1

Keningau: Tourism tax will be collected from hotels and resorts here from July onwards, District Officer Yusop Osman said. He explained that the tax would be used to lift the quality of tourism products in the country, including Sabah. "The tax will be collected effective starting July 1," he said. Parliament passed the Tourism Tax Bill with a big majority early last month after it was tabled by Tourism and Culture Minister Dato Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz. The Bill will allow the government to impose tourism tax levied on every tourist staying at any accommodation premise made available by an operator at the rate fixed by the minister in accordance with the law. With the passing of the Bill, it shall be the duty of a tourist to pay the tourism tax to the operator of the accommodation premises. On a related matter, Yusop called on all tourism industry players in the district to make all necessary preparation for the Visit Keningau Year 2018. He said the people are excitedly looking forward to receiving local and foreign tourists who will find many options in terms of places to visit and things to do during their stay. Meanwhile, Yusop advised parents to be extra watchful of their children during heavy downpours. "I urge those who are living near rivers of low laying areas to look after their children so that they won't go play near the river banks or go fishing," he said. Several areas in the district again experienced flash floods few days ago after heavy rain fell for hours for four consecutive days. In relation to this, he also advised village leaders to quickly report to the authorities in the event of a landslide. He said hundreds of people from various areas were affected in the latest episode. - Uhim Wong Source: Daily Express
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