13Sep

Kuala Penyu tourism industry to bloom in five years

KUALA PENYU: The tourism industry in Kuala Penyu will change for the better in five years’ time. Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister, Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said that various tourism development projects in the district are in the pipeline including five-star resorts and the Wong Tai Sin temple. “I believe this area will be different in five years, take my words for it. The beaches are beautiful with sand and clear water, it can be better than Bali if the resorts are in place,” he told a press conference during a site visit with Wong Tai Sing temple, Hongkong committee members in Kampung Kemansian here. According to him, plans are in place for several five-star resorts to be built in the district, which are awaiting for approval. He said that the resorts’ guests would stay for at least three nights in the district as there are various activities and interesting places they can go and visit. “On the first day, guests can watch fireflies and proboscis monkeys, on the second day, they can go to Labuan which is another destination that we are promoting and return to Kuala Penyu to go to Pulau Tiga on the third day. “On the fourth day, they can take a train ride to Tenom from Beaufort to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the track, before participating in the white water rafting activity or visiting the agricultural park in Tenom. “When the Pan Borneo Highway project is completed, travelling time from the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) will be shorten this making Kuala Penyu an attractive destination,” he said. Looking at Kuala Penyu Assemblyman, Limus Jury’s initiative in promoting the district, Pang said that he is confident the district will be developed in five years. “Limus travels around the world a lot and everywhere he goes, he will promote Kuala Penyu,” he added. Source : New Sabah Times
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12Sep

Mantanani Island may become Sabah’s next marine park, says Masidi

KOTA KINABALU: Mantanani Island, a well-known site for recreational diving off Kota Belud, and its surrounding areas have been identified as Sabah’s next potential marine park. Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the state government aims to turn 10 per cent of Sabah’s waters into protected marine areas. He said the government has identified several potential areas to achieve that goal. “The United Nations has invited us to gazette at least 10 per cent of our ocean and we have gazetted 7.6 per cent, with the current size of protected marine parks in Sabah at two million hectares. “I’ve asked my assistant minister (Datuk Pang Yuk Ming) to form a committee to look into the possibility of increasing the size of these marine parks so that we can comply with the 10 per cent requirement. “We have ample amounts of areas that we can eventually turn into parks and we have identified several. This reflects the good conservation policies that the state government has started and continued to implement. “We are actually looking at Mantanani and we are seriously considering turning (Mantanani) into a protected marine park,” he told reporters after launching the Maritime Environmental Security Workshop 2017 here, today. Masidi, however, said this would take some time as the plan depends on the government’s engagement with local residents, district office, and other relevant quarters. He said the ministry is in the midst of preparing the necessary technical requirements before bringing the proposal to the state government’s attention. “It’s not something we have to do in a hurry. We have to take into account the current status of Mantanani as an agriculture area but we believe the island is an excellent candidate to be considered as a marine park,” he said. Last year, the state government gazetted Tun Mustapha Park off Kudat. Spanning approximately 898762.76 hectares, it is Malaysia’s largest marine park. Sabah’s two other marine parks are Tun Sakaran Marine Park off Semporna and the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park off Kota Kinabalu. Speaking on the maritime environmental security workshop, Masidi described the conference as important to Sabah. He also extended his gratitude to the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur for organising and sponsoring the event. The four-day workshop, which starts today, will see participants made up of ministers, officers, and military personnel from the US and Malaysia, as well as non-governmental organisations presenting talks and ideas related to the subject. “This workshop reflects the strong partnership between Sabah and the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. I am pleased that the US embassy has acknowledged Sabah’s uniqueness in the field of marine protection. “I believe participants will make use of this workshop to share views and find ways to protect our marine treasures while getting input on suitable methods to be used in Sabah to allow us to increase our ability to protect marine resources,” said Masidi. Meanwhile, US Embassy’s environmental officer Todd Hannah said the US was committed to global environment conservation. She also said the workshop speaks volume of the importance of Malaysia’s relationship with the US. “That is why we have this sustain this relationship and we will continue to have such relationship with Malaysia on environmental issues. “One of the most important outcomes of this workshop is to convene like-minded people in the same room to have conversations on the way forward. “On resources, the US has to make a decision on where to put its money and the fact we are here doing this (workshop) now shows how important our relationship is with South East Asia, including Malaysia." Source : New Straits Times
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12Sep

Sabahan gets US conservation award

KOTA KINABALU: A Sabahan wildlife conservationist focused on preserving the highly endangered pangolins has been named a recipient of the Houston Zoo Wildlife Warrior Award. Elisa Panjang, 33, was among five wildlife conservationists from Africa, Asia and South America named for the award. According to the Houston Zoo website, the award is to honour outstanding conservationists from developing countries instrumental in protecting their local wildlife. The zoo, the second most visited in the United States with 2.55 million visitors, supports over a dozen conservation projects around the world.
 Elisa, who is the pangolin conservation officer at the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) in Kinabatangan, said she would use the fund from the award to support her training at a rescue centre in Vietnam or any other place.
“The award will definitely raise the profile of the pangolin locally as well as internationally. The zoo recognised the importance of pangolin research in our country. Malaysia should do the same by supporting local researchers,” said Elisa, thanking DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens for nominating her. “I hope that this international recognition will inspire our youths to get involved in science and conservation issues,” she said. Dr Goossens said the visit to the rescue centre would enable the Sandakan-born Elisa to learn more about its captive breeding programme. “I believe that a captive breeding programme of pangolins in Sabah will be one of the solutions to save them from extinction,” he said of the animal, widely known as the most trafficked mammal in the world. “We don’t have data to show their decline but the reality is that it is almost impossible to survey pangolins in the wild. “They rarely appear in our camera traps,” said Dr Goossens. Source : The Star
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11Sep

Trash Hero group cleans up waterfront area

KOTA KINABALU: There was an unusual sight in Tanjung Lipat, the State capital’s popular waterfront area here yesterday. Alongside couples taking romantic walks and families lounging under the afternoon sun were scores of people happily combing the sandy beaches for rubbish. Many donned a yellow t-shirt proclaiming themselves as a 'Trash Hero'. It was a fitting name for individuals selflessly taking it upon themselves to keeping our beaches trash-free. The leader Monica Chin said they started out with six to 10 people in their first initiative here in Sabah and now there were 125 volunteers. Monica is the co-founder of Trash Hero Borneo, which is a local chapter of the international non-governmental organisation. During her travels in Thailand in 2014, she was amazed by the fact that everywhere she went, Trash Hero volunteers were tidying the places. "I thought, why not start this in Sabah?" she said, embarking on various environmental talks and gathering supporters before finally launching the chapter's first cleanup operation in March. But not all the volunteers at Tanjung Lipat were locals. Swiss national Roman Peter stuck out like a sore thumb with his towering height and sandy brown hair. Roman in fact is the co-founder of the original Trash Hero World that has taken the world by storm - with nothing more than plastic bags and a willing pair of hands. "We could take pictures of the rubbish, show them to people and say 'someone should clean this up! This is someone's job!' "But that is not true. This is everyone's job," said Roman, who was visiting Sabah for the first time to personally take part in the beach cleanup. In just a little over three years, Trash Hero has evolved from a small project into 42 chapters worldwide. "Trash Hero's concept is that we do not blame anyone, or just simply talk about problems. We want to provide solutions and actions because ultimately, actions speak louder than words. "Furthermore, we are not getting any money from this as it is fully supported and funded by the volunteers and local communities themselves," said Roman, who believes this was the reason for the NGO's success. At the end of the day, rubbish weighing a total of 252 kilogrammes was collected from Tanjung Lipat - a proud achievement for the passionate group, which consisted of Trash Hero crew members, students, and other volunteers. While Trash Hero has undeniably made an impact here, many more Malaysians will need to contribute in order to ensure that the environment stays clean. For those interested in volunteering, check out Trash Hero Borneo's facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/TrashHeroBorneo/), where they post the latest updates on their next cleanup activity. Source : New Straits Times
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11Sep

Tourism grew 10%

RANAU: Tourist arrivals to Sabah grew about 10 per cent between 2015 and 2016, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun revealed. He said arrivals grow from 3.176 million in 2015 to 3.427 million last year, and these figures came from the immigration authorities in Malaysia, Malaysia Airports Sdn Bhd and airlines such as AirAsia. The figures showed that Sabah was a must-visit destination among tourists, he said when officiating Rhythms of Kinabalu @ Ranau at the tamu grounds here last Saturday evening. His speech was delivered by his assistant Datuk Kamarlin Hj Ombi. The event was organized by the Department of Culture and Arts in collaboration with the State Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment. Masidi said the state government will continue developing the tourism industry by introducing more tourism products especially those from the rural areas. One such effort is the Sabah Rural Tourism Roadshow which was launched in August 2017. “Environment-based tourism products have been drawing tourists and we are looking forward to growth in the supporting businesses such as transportation, accommodation, food and others. “The presence of the tourists has also indirectly contributed to improvements in elements of our lifestyle. We hope that elements of our culture will be able to draw more tourists to Sabah.” Masidi, who is also the state assemblyman of Karanaan, said Sabah’s natural attraction – being located on the third largest island in the world (Borneo) and being the second largest state in Malaysia (with 72,500 square kilometres) are attractive. “Therefore picking Ranau for this event is the right decision because Ranau is known as an attractive destination by domestic and overseas tourists, being home to Kinabalu the World Heritage Site.” Ranau is also home to Desa Cattle (sometimes described as Little New Zealand), Poring Hot Springs, Tagal Luanti, Rabbit Village, Sabah Tea and the mythical Nunuk Ragang, where the Kadazandusun community was said to have originated. The Rhythms of Kinabalu @ Ranau event was the first to be organized under the National Blue Ocean Strategy to showcase Ranau’s community and tourism attractions. Source : New Sabah Times
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