31Jul

Sabah Lines Up Exciting Merdeka programmes

Kota Kinabalu: An array of exciting programmes has been lined up for the National Month this year. State National Day organising chairman cum Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the launching of the State-level National Month and Jalur Gemilang campaign will be done by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman at the City Hall compound on Aug 1. "However, activities for the National Month started since mid-July with the State-level Negaraku Speech Competition," he said during a media luncheon, here, Thursday. Hajiji said the theme for this year's National Day is Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa (My Country, One Heart, One Soul) which takes unity as the prime mover to strengthen national integration among the multiracial communities in Malaysia. "The concept is designed based on harmony in diversity to enhance patriotism. Apart from that, it can further boost the spirit of togetherness, understanding and respect among the people." Among the highlights for the celebration is the "Negaraku Malaysia, Sabah Tanah Airku" by the State Archives Department at Suria Sabah, from Aug 24-31. There will also be busking performances starting on July 30 at Gaya Street before the buskers perform in Putatan on Aug 1, Segama Waterfront (Aug 12), Kampung Air (Aug 19) and Centre Point (Aug 31). The annual programme by the Information Department, Kembara Merdeka Negaraku will also be launched on Aug 1. The programme will be conducted in each district in the State. Apart from that, the State Information Department is also organising several competitions which offer attractive cash prizes. Among the competitions is a photography contest where the first placed winner will grab RM1,000 and RM1,500 will be offered to the winner of the poster competition. Entries for both contests must showcase the patriotism spirit as well as to promote the celebration of National Month. More information can be obtained through the State Information Department's official Facebook page, under the name "Jabatan Penerangan Sabah." Also present during the media luncheon were Assistant Local Government and Housing Ministers Datuk Joachim Gunsalam and Datuk Zakaria Edris and State Information Director Suwadi Guliling. - Ricardo Unto   Source: TheBorneoPost
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31Jul

RM50,000 Awaits MGM Pageant Winner This Year

Kota Kinabalu: This year's Mitarab Gimpuhut Momogun (MGM) winner will bring home prizes worth about RM50,000, including a cash prize of RM10,000. The beauty pageant for Rungus and northern beauties which will become the highlight of the Magahau Fest' finale tomorrow (Monday) will be participated by 21 Rungus beauties from around the country. MGM received numerous sponsorships, including from two private higher learning institutions which offer scholarships to the top winners. Apart from that, the winner for the MGM pageant will also be offered to join Samora and Tourism Malaysia delegates to the International French Travel Market (IFTM) 2017 in Paris, France. Magahau Fest organiser cum Sabah Momogun Rungus Association (Samora) president Datuk Jelani Hamdan said the total prizes for the MGM top seven is worth more than RM300, 000. "The pageant aims to produce skilled ambassadors, in terms of cultural skills such as making traditional crafts, embroidery and dances. "And that is why MGM is not merely a beauty pageant as the judging criteria falls heavily on cultural skills. "The organisers want the pageant to be not only competitive but also educational," he said during a press conference at Ujana Rimba Tropika Park, here, on Saturday. Jelani also disclosed the pageant also witnessed an increase in language proficiency among participants this year, compared to previous editions. "This year's contestants are better prepared…they knew how the competition is being organised, so they made preparations like studying the Rungus language as well as the culture." He said MGM is an excellent avenue to ignite the young generation's interests on traditional culture. On Magahau Fest, Jelani said the festival which has been included in the country and State tourism calendar will attract more than 5,000 attendees, including 100 confirmed foreign tourists. The activities for the National-level Magahau Fest celebration started on Jul 27 with the finale being held on Jul 31 at Puruvan Square, Matunggong. The Magahau Fest was launched at Kanibongan Community Hall, Pitas, on Jul 8 where Pitas Zone was selected as the curtain-raiser for this year's celebration. After Pitas Zone, the fest was held in six other zones – Peninsula Zone, Kota Marudu Zone, Kudat Zone, Beluran Zone, Kota Kinabalu Zone and Matunggong Zone. Among the activities lined up for the fest are traditional sports, traditional food competition, Mitarab Monurizak (singing competition), Mitarab dot Band (band competition), Sodop Papak Tavasi (gala night) apart from the MGM beauty pageant. - Ricardo Unto   Source: TheBorneoPost
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28Jul

Sabah lines up 16 programmes for National Month

KOTA KINABALU: The state-level month-long National Day celebration will kick off on August 1 at the Dataran Dewan Bandaraya with 16 programmes lined up. Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor told a press conference here yesterday that the launching of the ‘Bulan Kebangsaan dan Kibar Jalur Gemilang 2017’ event will be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Hajiji, who is the chairman of the state-level celebration’s organising committee, said the theme of the event is ‘Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa’ and it was chosen as solidarity and unity strengthens national integration among Malaysia’s multi-racial society. The event will culminate on August 31 where the annual National Day Parade will be held at Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and it will be graced by Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, he disclosed. “Other than the motorised floats and march by uniformed bodies, schools and state agencies, there will also be a cultural performance,” Hajiji added. According to Hajiji, among the 16 activities lined up during the month are the ‘Pertandingan Pidato NegaraKu’, ‘Anugerah Keceriaan NegaraKu Bulan Kebangsaan’, ‘Kembara Merdeka NegaraKu 2017’, ‘Program NegaraKu@Komuniti’ and ‘Pertandingan Pengisahan NegeraKu’. He added that there will also be a photography competition, poster competition, exhibition on Malaysia, ‘Grafiti Ekspresi NegaraKu Malaysia’ and the conferring of the ‘Battle Honour’ Daulat 2013 award. He said in conjunction with National Month, the Sabah State Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) would conduct tahlil recital and prayers for safety. The Sabah Council of Churches would also hold prayers and fast for 40 days from Aug 1 till Sept 16 while Chinese associations representing Buddhist temples in Sabah would also hold prayers for the well-being and prosperity of the country, he said. “I urge all Sabahans to show their love for the country by raising the national and state flags on their buildings, residences, premises and even vehicles during the month-long celebration,” Hajiji said.   Source: TheBorneoPost
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27Jul

Capture Malaysian Forests in Pix and Win a Prize

Kota Kinabalu: The Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) is calling all photography enthusiasts to express their impressions of forests and its rich resources through photographs and compete in the MTCC Photography Contest 2017. Themed "Experience Forest, Experience MTCS-PEFC", the photography contest opens for entries until 15 October 2017. The contest aims to raise awareness on the invaluable benefit of our tropical forest as well as to promote the importance of sustainable forest management and certification. "Photos are a great medium to connect people from all ages and backgrounds to encourage them to rethink the true value of forests and to appreciate the natural beauty of the forests and all its inhabitants. "This is the reason why we have teamed up with leading imaging publication, PCP publications, to organize this photography contest. We hope this contest will provide Malaysians with a platform to explore the beauty of our tropical forests through their lenses," said MTCC CEO, Yong Teng Koon. He noted that forests are vital to livelihood of many living things. Besides carbon sequestration, it provides the oxygen we breathe, timber, medicines, clean water and renewable energy sources that we need for our daily life. Through this contest, MTCC help to promote the importance of managing our forests sustainably for both current and future generations. The photography contest comprises three categories: Category 1 – Forests and People: which requires participants to capture images of people involved in the field of forestry responsible for the sustainable management and well-being of Malaysia's forest resources. They may include images of people at work such as foresters, forest rangers, forest researchers, auditors and indigenous peoples. Category 2 – Forest and Forest Landscape: which seeks for shots capturing a forest's natural beauty, diversity and uniqueness in form and structure. Category 3 – Forest and Animal: this category invites participants to capture images of animals in the wild including mammals, birds, amphibians or reptiles. Outstanding entries stand the chance to win the grand prize of RM2,000, a first prize of RM1,200 per category, two merit prizes of RM600 per category, and five consolation prizes of RM200 per category. Each winner will also receive a coffee-table book courtesy of PCP Publications. Participants may submit up to 10 images for each category and are required to upload their entries to a cloud storage system and email the link to mtcc@pcp2u.my. Top winning photos will also be exhibited at the Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival (KLPF) 2017 – the largest imaging event in Malaysia, to be held at MAPKL at Publika from 24 to 26 November. Winners will be awarded during the exhibition and have their photos displayed for public viewing at the event. Established in 1998, the Malaysian Timber Certification Council (MTCC) is an independent organisation tasked to develop and operate the Malaysian Timber Certification Scheme (MTCS). As a voluntary national scheme, the MTCS provides for independent assessment of forest management practices and audit of timber product manufacturers or exporters to ascertain that the timber products manufactured or exported are sourced from sustainably managed forests. Source: Daily Express
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