All articles of culture in Sabah

02Jul

9th Tugu Budaya Etnik Sabah-International Youth Folk Dance Festival July 10-14

KOTA KINABALU: The unique and diverse culture of Sabah will be showcased at the upcoming 9th Tugu Budaya Etnik Sabah-International Youth Folk Dance Festival 2018 on July 10-14. This is a very attractive programme to promote the rich culture of Sabah, said Deputy Chief Minister-cum-Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew. “The programme also provided an opportunity for us to exchange and express our culture with other countries,” said Liew during the launch of the festival promotional event at Wisma Tun Fuad here yesterday. The cultural dance can be instilled in the student lives so when they grow up they will always remember this cultural heritage, she said. “We hope the top three winners will have the opportunity to represent Sabah to overseas competition. The ministry will always support them,” assured Liew. Sabah Cultural Board general manager William Baya said the festival is participated by primary and secondary schools and unlike previous years, it was only competed by national teams, this year they decided to open for international competitors. And they have received the confirmation from Raduga, Russia; Sanggar Tari Bali Legong (Indonesia); Tarlac National High School (Philippines); Zamin (Uzbekistan); Ranranga Dance Academy (Sri Lanka). The festival aims to raise the cultural awareness among the students the importance in preserving our cultural heritage as well as to foster friendship and understanding through culture, he said. “It is also to promote the tourism destination of Sabah based on culture and also provide a platform for the students to showcase their cultural dance talents and skills,” said William. The five-day event featuring 24 teams from Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Selangor as well as five international teams will kick-off at Imago Shopping Mall on July 10, before the rest of the competition is held at the Sabah Cultural Centre in Penampang. Also present was Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister permanent secretary Datu Rosmadi Sulai. Source: New Sabah Times
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29Jun

Free walking tour of KK

Kota Kinabalu: Tourists and locals who wish to know more about the history, heritage and culture of the State capital now have an option of doing so with the availability of a walking tour introduced by the Sabah Tourism Board (STB), recently. The 9am-11am tour, which is free of charge, is presently held once a day every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. A licensed tour guide from the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) will lead the tour covering places of interest within the city. The walking tour takes visitors through 11 stops starting from the STB building before heading to the former Land and Survey Building and other places of interest such as the Atkinson Tower, Gaya Street, Central Market, Handicraft Market and ending at STB's merchandise shop, Kadaiku, at Sinsuran. Deputy Chief Minister cum Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew, who officiated the tour, commended STB for the initiative to further promote Kota Kinabalu. "I think this is a good initiative that we may look further into. I know in Shanghai they have a whole stretch called Nanjing Walkway where there are no vehicles and where tourists will just be walking around and shopping. "Other countries are also trying to do something similar, and having the free walking tour here is a good start," she told a media conference, Thursday. Christina said for a start it will be conducted three times a week and from there they will see how it goes before looking into the possibility of expanding it. She also mentioned the roles which the media can play in helping to promote the tour. "We ought to be able to promote this new tour more effectively. Let the people know that there is such a thing here and I am sure we will be able to increase the number of visitors," she said. STB General Manager Suzaini Datuk Sabdin Ghani said the walking tour started on June 23 with about 20 tourists, adding that they are expecting a bigger number next Saturday. She said the tour is open to anyone, tourists and locals alike, adding that they have so far received a mix of tourists from Europeans to locals, Chinese and Koreans who happen to be in the city and want to learn a bit more about Kota Kinabalu rather than spending time at the mall. "This is new, my team decided to introduce the free walking tour because we have a beautiful city," she said. Also present was STGA President S. F. Chin who said at present it is only for English-speaking visitors and that after the first three months, they will look into the response and perhaps STB may consider opening up for Mandarin-speaking visitors. She said STGA is honoured for being called by STB to provide guides, adding that normally STGA provides them with senior guides to ensure quality guiding and attract tourists to take part in the walking tour. She said this also creates extra jobs for STGA guides to assist STB promote Sabah. A statement from the STB stated that the free walking tour concept is relatively a new way to discover cities compared to the traditional tour concept. It stated that today's young travellers are likely to sign up for free walking tours as they have become increasingly popular in other key destinations. In 2017, Sabah recorded a total of 3.6 million visitors and 52.1 per cent from the total arrivals were Free Independent Travellers. The walking tour is suitable for this group, who are mostly millennial travellers. Advance booking is required and visitors can book their free walking tour at www.freewalk.sabahtourism.com or email to booking@sabahtourism.com. - Sherell Jeffrey Source: Daily Express
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07Jun

Short film contest on Sabah-China ties

Kota Kinabalu: The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu, in collaboration with the Kota Kinabalu Journalists Association (KKJA), is organising a short film competition to feature the long history of good relationship, cooperation and economic ties between China and Sabah. The competition aims to promote better understanding and exchange between the peoples of both countries. The deadline is Aug 1, 2018. Participants will stand a chance to win RM5,000 cash for the first prize, RM3,000 for the second and RM2,000 for the third. There will also be an award for the best edited film which comes with RM500 cash prize, as well as consolation prizes of RM200 each. The award recipients will also receive a trophy. The Chinese Consulate and KKJA have formed an organising committee headed by James Tseu for the competition. Content must be appropriate in nature and depict the close friendship, exchanges, traditions or any aspects which portray the good relations between China and Sabah. The films can be of any genre, including, but not limited to, documentary, drama and digital animation. Contents of the film can be a story of the migration of Chinese ancestors to Sabah, the friendly ties between the Chinese citizens and Sabahans, collaborations and exchanges in education, culture, economy or investments. Submissions shall not exceed five minutes, inclusive of beginning and end credits. The film may be shot in MPEG4 or H.264 format. The recommended ratios are 16:9/16:9 in HD. The films can be shot in any languages. It is advisable to provide English or Chinese subtitles, particularly for entries filmed in language(s) other than Mandarin. Entry form and rules and regulations of the competition can be downloaded from the official website of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Kota Kinabalu at http://kotakinabalu.china-consulate.org/eng/zytz_1/t1564240.htm Participants are required to upload their entries to YouTube.com, set as unlisted and provide the link to the organizer along with the entry form via email to chinasabahshortfilmcontest@gmail.com. Participants are allowed to submit more than one film. Each film must be submitted separately along with the entry form. All entries will be evaluated by a panel of judges on creativity, storyline, originality and technical merits. Results will be announced at the end of August and winners shall be notified to attend the award presentation ceremony in due course. Participants are required to refer to the rules and regulations for more details regarding the competition, copyright and promotional use of the submitted films. For more information, contact KKJA Chairman Yong Ted Phen at 019-8807941 or organising chairman James Tseu at 016-8329883. Source: Daily Express
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05Jun

Promoting Sabah as a whole for tourism industry – Liew

TAWAU: The district is in for some major changes as efforts to develop tourism industry in the state will not be concentrated in a few major areas such as Mount Kinabalu or Sipadan island but the whole of Sabah in line with the increasing number of tourist arrivals, especially from China. Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew said effort should be put into the venture to promote other places and to make the state a holistic tourist destination. She said Tawau should no longer label itself as a transit point but capitalize on getting tourists visiting nearby Semporna to stay there as part of the tour. “I am looking for a plan to set up a cultural market in the district which will be part of the tourism attraction apart from what we already have,” she said. Christina, who is also the state’s Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said the market concept will introduce the various cultures and she will discuss the matter with the district municipal council’s president soon. “At the same time I am going to meet up with tourism operators around the state to see if Sabah as a whole can be made as a tourism venue,” she added. Christina however stressed that beautification and setting up of infrastructures to accommodate tourists is needed if the effort is implemented. She said both the district and Sandakan have the attractions needed to lure in tourists but additional infrastructures such as hotels, chalets and other forms of accommodation are lacking.   Source : The Borneo Post
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05Jun

Liew wants to create more tourism hotspots in Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: Newly-appointed Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew wants to create hotspots in focus areas, such as Sandakan and Tawau, that have potential to draw in tourists to further boost the sector. Liew, who is also Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, said such efforts to further boost the growth of the tourism industry in the two districts would also help residents generate income and improve the local economy as well as providing job opportunities. Citing Tawau as an example, she said the setting up of a visitors' hotspot would enable Tawau to be not merely a transit location for tourists before proceeding to Semporna. “Hence, hotspot locations should be created including making Tawau a hub for cheap and fresh seafood to entice tourists to stay there for two or three days before heading elsewhere,” she told reporters after attending the state Cabinet meeting chaired by new Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal at the State Administrative Centre. Liew said she would meet with heads of department under her ministry next week to obtain more information on the development of the tourism sector in Sabah. On another note, Liew, who is also Api Api assemblyman and Tawau MP, assured the people of Sabah that she would do her best as well as fulfil her manifesto aspirations by being transparent and responsible with the mandate given to her. — Bernama Source : The Star Online
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