15Aug

Cindy is Miss Sabah Tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Freelance model Cindy Foo was crowned this year’s Miss Sabah Tourism during the state-level grand finals at Hakka Hall here on Friday night. The 27-year-old cut her teeth starring in promotional videos to boost tourism in the Chinese market while also participating in various pageants, namely Sabah Model of the Year, Miss Earth Sabah and later Miss Earth Malaysia. In her past endeavours, Cindy clinched the titles of Sabah Model of the Year in 2012 and Miss Sabah Air the following year. Of all the pageants she had participated in, Cindy admitted Miss Sabah Tourism was the most well-rounded one as it helped develop participants as a whole and did not focus solely on appearances. “Through Miss Sabah Tourism, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in various activities that bring a lot of meaning, like visiting an old folks’ home and spending time with the residents there. “This pageant also provided public speaking lessons as well as catwalk lessons, which obviously came in very handy during the competition itself. “We also did a lot of video shooting during this pageant, so we definitely gained a lot of exposure doing different things,” she said. With her newly awarded title, Cindy said she would continue using her modelling platform to promote tourism, culture and friendship, in line with the pageant’s slogan. While she has just been crowned Miss Sabah Tourism 2017, the beauty queen already has projects lined up to shoot movies in Penang later this year and in Sabah early next year, the latter of which will be introduced to the China market. As this year’s winner, Cindy took home a cash prize of RM3,000 and a RM1,399 New York Fitness VIP membership card valid for one year. She also received the subsidiary title of Miss New York Fitness, adopted by New York Fitness, in which she bagged another year’s VIP membership pass. Meanwhile, 21-year-old Claudieyamax Aloysius was crowned first runner-up and Eleanor Ng, 24, as second runner-up. Each winner received cash prizes and a New York Fitness VIP membership worth RM1,399, valid for a year. All three finalists will represent Sabah in Miss Malaysia Tourism at a later date. Miss Sabah Tourism 2017 was organised by Poise Productions and presented by SG Group, with former Miss Malaysia Tourism 2009, Weena Marcus, as pageant State Director. Gold sponsors of the event included Avangio Hotel, Imago Shopping Mall, New York Fitness and Sheila Liaw Make Up Academy, with silver sponsors Emvee Productions, Wilti-Jos, Pick n Pay, The Crab House Seafood Restaurant, Classic Holidays, Breeze magazine, Batik Bayu, Borneo Proboscis Destinations Sdn. Bhd. and the Sabah Tourism Board. Also present at the grand final were Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, president and owner of Miss Malaysia Tourism Tan Sri Datuk Danny Ooi and deputy CEO of SG Group Steven Low. Source: The Borneo Post
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15Aug

Hundreds of insect species found in Hampuan Forest Reserve

KOTA KINABALU: Hundreds of species of insects endemic to Borneo have been recorded in the newly gazetted Hampuan Forest Reserve close to Kinabalu Park. An estimated 115 species, including butterflies, moths and beetles, are found in this forest reserve, which is believed to also have the highest density of nocturnal insects in the area, said Forest Entomologist for the Sabah Forestry Department Dr Arthur Y.C. Chung. There are at least 42 butterfly, 15 moth and three beetle species found in Bukit Hampuan during their survey in the area to prepare for the gazetting sometime in 2011, he added. It is likely that there are special types of butterflies, including Rajah Brooke’s Birdwing (Troides brookiana), Common Birdwing (Troides helena) and Tree Nymph (Idea stolli), in the forest reserve area. Dr Chung said insects could travel from Kinabalu Park to Hampuan Forest Reserve due to its proximity and suitable living conditions. Apart from insects, Dr Chung said an abundance of orchid species could be found at the forest reserve as well. Dr Chung also recommended that Bukit Hampuan Forest Reserve be connected to the nearby Kinabalu Park, by gazetting the connecting state land area into a forest reserve.
“Forest fires, illegal hunting for wild animals and orchids, and agricultural activities are among the threats to Bukit Hampuan Forest Reserve, which directly affect its insect diversity,” he added. Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department Datuk Elron Angin had in the recent state assembly said that Sabah was expanding the Bukit Hampuan Forest Reserve near Mount Kinabalu to ensure the survival of a butterfly species that can only be found there. He added that the 1,243ha Bukit Hampuan forest reserve was being enlarged by another 26.3ha for this purpose. Source: The Star
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15Aug

National Day cheer at Lahad Datu market

LAHAD DATU: Traders have started hanging the Jalur Gemilang and state flags at the market here to celebrate the National Day. Assistant market administrator of the Lahad Datu district council Rusli Tahir said the move was also meant to counter the negative image of the town, which has been associated with terrorist attacks. “Under the current government, the country, specifically Sabah and Lahad Datu, is safe.
“By putting up the flags at the market, we want to send out a positive image that our country is independent and Lahad Datu is safe from terrorism,” he said. He said the market was the best place to create positivity and instil patriotism among the people as it was a hub of activity. Trader Ismawati Abdul Salleh, 25, said this was the first time they were putting up flags at the market. Nurhadi Nurdin, 48, said the flags livened the mood in the market, making it more cheery. — Bernama Source: The Star
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15Aug

Sabah looking at sole operator to manage Wetlands tourism

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is looking into having a sole operator managing tourism products at the state’s wetlands. Assistant Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Pang Yuk Ming said an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 tourists daily are visiting Klias and Weston wetlands known for their proboscis monkeys and fireflies. “The number of tourists could double to 4,000 people daily in the future. “If we have a single entity doing the operation, we are in better position to better manage the place,” he said, adding the population of wildlife might be affected if there was no proper tourism planning in the two areas. He was speaking after the launch of the inaugural Sabah Elephant Film Festival 2017 here this morning. Pang said the state government would discuss with non-governmental organisations in formulating policy and guidelines to ensure there is balance between tourism and preserving the environment. He anticipates a lot of objections in having only a sole operator to manage Klias and Weston wetlands. Also present were World Wildlife Fund-Malaysia (WWF) executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma, Sabah Wildlife director Augustine Tuuga and Danau Girang Field Centre director Dr Benoit Goosens. Dionysius said the festival, which showcased seven films at National Department for Culture and Arts complex here, meant to educate about elephants and its importance to keep the forests healthy. Based on a study done by WWF in late 2000s, it is estimated that there may be less than 1,500 Borneon elephants left in Sabah. Source: New Straits Times
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11Aug

Sabah’s wildlife rangers to be in focus in season 2 of Borneo Wildlife Warriors

KOTA KINABALU: Following a positive reception, Borneo Wildlife Warriors – an online series focusing on Sabah’s wildlife rangers – will premier its second season next week. Kick starting August 16, the weekly web-series brought by leading south east Asia’s production and photography company Scubazoo will feature efforts to care and rescue sun bears, Bornean pygmy elephants and orangutans at Sabah’s east coast this time. The new six-episode series will continue featuring award-winning British journalist and presenter Aaron ‘Bertie’ Gekoski who hosted the first series, picking up from his bootcamp at Sabah west coast’s operations (Lok Kawi Wildlife Park) and moving to more intense activities while based at Sepilok in Sandakan. “When I tell people back home that I rescued elephants, they said ‘woah’ - they think it is so much fun. “But it is not; it is hard work and this second season we will go out on more extreme activities like catching and relocating a bull elephant. “After spending a decade in Africa and coming to Asia, I can say this is the single most hard core thing I had to do,” Bertie shared on his experience while making the series during a press conference here. It gave him a glimpse of how hard life is for wildlife rangers where they spent a week chasing after and catching the bull elephant trapped inside a large plantation, which he described as an intelligent animal that ‘kept darting away from us’. “Once, we got separated from the group and got lost for 12 hours in the jungle with no phone for communication or food. “The best part after our operation is done and we came back exhausted, we were asked to go out again to get an orangutan and its baby trapped and malnourished in another palm oil plantation,” he added. Asked if he would do it all over again given the chance, Bertie replied in a definite yes – which echoes the tagline of the series, ‘Because the Jungle is Worth Fighting For’. Meanwhile, Kota Kinabalu-based Scubazoo operations director Terence Lim said they are looking for local presenters with a passion for wildlife and story telling that could do hosting jobs like Bertie. “It would be great if we have a local ‘Bertie’ who could highlight our own conservation efforts and we welcomed those interested (to contact us),’ he added. Source: New Straits Times
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