02Nov

Video of adventurer and proboscis monkey hits five million views

KOTA KINABALU: The video of Irish adventurer, animal whisperer and king of animal selfie, Allan Dixon with a proboscis monkey taken in Sabah has reached five million views on @9GAG. Dubbed as the real-life Dr Dolittle, Dixon has the ability to ‘talk’ to animals to get realistic selfies with wildlife for online content. For six months in 2014, Dixon worked in Australia for the Best Job in the World Competition held by Tourism Australia and pursued photography and making videos with animals. Dixon, who is originally from Wicklow, Ireland has since traveled to Canada, Iceland, Norway, Australia, across Asia and visited Sabah recently. Sabah Tourism hosted Dixon to Sandakan as well as a visit to see proboscis monkey. The now famous video selfie with the ‘big nose of Borneo’ garnered five million views on 9GAG Instagram account within three days. When met during a high tea with Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Dixon said he planNED to produce a video on his visit to Sabah. Source : Borneo Post
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01Nov

‘Proposed temple in K Penyu to attract tourists’

Kuala Penyu: The proposed construction of the Wong Tai Sin Temple here is to attract foreign tourists to Sabah, said Kuala Penyu Assemblyman Datuk Limus Jury. He clarified that the proposed construction of a third temple outside of Hong Kong after Macau and Vancouver was not for other purpose as spread in social media. "My recent statement on the proposed construction of the Wong Tai Sin Temple posed a bit of confusion in certain quarters and a handful of people. "The proposed project is to attract foreign tourists from all over the world to Sabah, especially Kuala Penyu, as the public know that such temple has a significant impact on Buddhism. "On the contrary, we need to be grateful that Kuala Penyu is lucky to be selected as the third location of Tong Wong Tai Sin in the world, apart from the one in Hong Kong as its centre or main base. "In fact, I have informed Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman and Minister of Special Tasks Datuk Teo Chee Kang at a briefing and site visit by delegations from Hong Kong," he said. According to him, the effort to bring the project to the district is to make it one of the major tourist destinations in the State. "We bring this project as a way and opportunity to transform the development landscape of this district into a tourist destination. "This is because it not only generates income in terms of tourism but also will change the district's sleeping town status for a long time due to the absence of prominent economic activities," he said. When the project is implemented, the youths will get a portion of economic pie and they do not need to go to cities to find jobs, said Limus. More importantly, he said, the proceeds from the construction of the temple would be channelled back to the welfare of the needy community regardless of race and religion. He noted that in Hong Kong, the temple has brought many benefits to the community as it has 17 schools and seven hospitals built from the collections of more than 300 million Hong Kong dollar a year. Limus said the matter had been thoroughly refined and studied before deciding to proceed. Hence, he requested the State Government to provide funds or grant to realise the construction of the project. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 17th Menumbok Fishermen Festival and CTC Mobile programme (Mobile Community Transformation Centre) at Mempakul Beach, near here. Sources : Daily Express
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01Nov

Need to preserve beauty of Sabah to ensure tourism remains sustainable

PENAMPANG: Tourism players want Sabah’s tourism to remain sustainable with continuous conservation of its natural heritage and biodiversity in 33 years to come. Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said Sabah, being the second largest state in Malaysia, has a massive potential to contribute in bringing large arrival of tourists into the country by 2050. “We expect tourist arrival will grow but we have to ask ourselves how this tourism growth impacts the environment. “There is a need to have plans. Therefore the aspirations of Sabah people, especially those in tourism, are vital to ensure the industry stays sustainable and the environment remains preserved as the nation develops,” she said. Mas Ermieyati was speaking at the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) dialogue for Sabah tourism players at the Penampang Cultural Building here today. Speaking to reporters, she noted that the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has listed Malaysia among the top 12 countries that have the highest number of tourist arrival. “I see Sabah as a big potential (to boost arrival) and the UNWTO statistic needs to be taken into account to further propel arrival of tourists from abroad. “Can we become top 10 or 5 five in the world in years to come? The government needs the view and aspiration of Sabah people because the state has many interesting places and cultures with its diverse ethnic background.” Mas Ermieyati stressed all these needed to be shared so the people’s hopes and aspirations could be highlighted, which would assist in the implementation of 2050 national tourism policy. This will ensure the government will take into account the sustainable culture, heritage, and eco-tourism in the state, she added. In sharing her personal aspiration, Mas Ermieyati spoke of the beauty of Sabah and hoped to see the state’s attractive scenery stays the same in 2050. “I hope I can still enjoy the beautiful scenery and underwater with the same feeling I have today,” she said. Being an avid diver herself, Mas Ermieyati noted that the diving industry in Malaysia, especially in Sabah, was growing and developing well. She stressed conservation of the state marine biodiversity was vital to keep tourism booming by 2050. Among the aspirations shared by participants in the TN50 dialogue were preservation of ethnic languages, setting up of a cultural agency to provide financial assistance, and continuous environmental conservation, among others. Participants also expressed hope to see ethnic languages being promoted as tourism products and handicraft from the various ethnic groups were well documented for 2050 generation. Source : New Straits Times
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01Nov

Elusive clouded leopard tagged in Kinabatangan

KINABATANGAN: A wild Sunda clouded leopard was trapped and fitted with a satellite collar last week. “On the morning of October 28, this new male leopard entered one of our purpose-built traps along the Kinabatangan River. “It was a very healthy male, weighing 24.75 kg. And, we named him Cakar for “storm,” said Meg Evans, a PhD student at Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) carnivore expert. Evans said in a statement here yesterday Cakar was the fourth male collared in the vicinity of DGFC. The last clouded leopard (a female) was collared in August 2014. “We are planning to collar more individuals along the Kinabatangan,” added Evans. This effort is part of a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), WildCRU (Oxford University) and DGFC. The project, focusing on research and conservation of the Sunda clouded leopard in Sabah, is mainly funded by Sime Darby Foundation, with additional funding and support from Atlanta Zoo, Houston Zoo, Recanati-kaplan Foundation, Robertson Foundation, Point Defiance Zoo, Rufford Foundation and The Clouded Leopard Project. Meanwhile DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens said the collaring of this new male was part of an intensive satellite tracking programme to study the spatial ecology and habitat associations of the Sunda clouded leopard in the fragmented landscape of the Lower Kinabatangan. The area is dominated by palm oil plantations and highly degraded forest. Dr Goossens who is also Reader at Cardiff University added that the data produced by the first four individuals collared between September 2013 and September 2014 had provided considerable insights into the landscape ecology of this elusive top carnivore. “Our results are currently being assessed for publication,”he said. Dr Goossens also said that last June, SWD and DGFC organised an international workshop on the Sunda clouded leopard conservation, and that a Clouded Leopard Action Plan was currently being drafted. According to him, the information provided by Cakar wold be extremely important for the management of the population in a fragile landscape such as the Kinabatangan floodplain. “The species is currently facing threats from hunting, pet trade and habitat loss,” he said. Source : New Sabah Times
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31Oct

3 Sabah islands to be gazetted as marine areas

KOTA KINABALU: The state government is in the process of gazetting Mantanani, Mengalum and Sipadan islands as total protected marine areas. State Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said the initiative was in line with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommendation to have at least 10 per cent of  protected marine areas by 2020. “It is difficult to have three marine areas to be gazetted by 2020 as the process will be long. “However, the state government has already prepared the documents (for the gazettement of those waters),” he said, adding that the gazetting of Mantanani waters would be tabled in the next cabinet meeting. Pang said the process for Mengalum would be discussed next year and status of Sipadan, renowned as one of the world’s top dive sites, to be discussed in 2019. Once the three sites are gazetted, marine areas will make up 13 per cent of Sabah, exceeding the IUCN recommendation. Sabah now has more than one million hectares, or 7.6 per cent, listed as total protected areas. The Tun Mustapha Park off Kudat waters, Malaysia’s largest marine park, was the most recent gazetted area. Pang added that his ministry was also encouraging hoteliers and seafood restaurants to sell sustainable seafood to their clients. He said they could buy from suppliers who adopted good practices, such as fish farming and fishing using the right nettings, among others. Buying sustainable seafood is not only good for branding but also helps to maintain seafood supply in the long term. “In Sabah, it has been our priority to market ourselves as an eco-destination and our marine system is one of the best in the world. “At the (high) rate of arrivals by Chinese, South Korean and other international tourists in Sabah, the situation is putting pressure on our precious resources,” he said, adding that high quality seafood was available at more affordable prices compared to Hong Kong and China. Meanwhile, Sabah Hotel Association past-president Christopher Chan said they were willing to comply with the ministry’s suggestions, provided the supply met the demand. “Operators like us will look into the availability of different varieties and sizes of sustainable seafood when buying. “If suppliers or relevant parties are able to meet our demands, it is not a problem to go with the government’s initiative.” Sabah Fisheries director Dr Ahemad Sade said since department’s establishment 50 years ago, they had been pushing to have sustainable seafood. “This is to ensure the fisheries source is sustainable and will be available for future generations.” Source : New Straits Times
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