RM20,000 fine if charter buses being used: Ministry

Kota Kinabalu: The Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) will be working with the Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) on a guideline for charter buses being used for tours in a bid to weed out illegal tour buses or the white van menace in Sabah. Its Director Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said charter buses ferrying tourists around in tours is illegal and tour operators who engaged them could face fines of up to RM20,000. "It is clearly stated in the Travel Vehicle Licensing Act and the Tourism Act that it is forbidden for tour operators to engage other vehicles than tour buses, licensed under the licensing act," he told reporters here on Monday. He said his office is now working with CVLB to define the guidelines involving charter buses in tourism related operations, along the lines of the law under Motac. Ag Ahmad Zaki also wants tour operators to cancel any contracts they may have signed with charter bus owners or operators, noting that he was aware that several operators are currently hiring their services to handle tours. Earlier, Ag Ahmad Zaki noted that the number of white van or illegal tour buses has significantly reduced following a joint-campaign Motac launched last year with the authorities, Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry and tourism-related non-governmental organisations. "Previously, there were around four tour buses against 15 to 20 white vans (Illegal tour buses) plying our streets to ferry tourists. "But by October the same year, there was no white van bus found. The last operation we held on May 26 this year, only one white van was caught, carrying seven tourists, Chinese nationals, onboard. "I believe the number of white vans has dropped by at least 80 per cent since then," said Ag Ahmad Zaki, brushing aside recent claims by the Sabah Tourist Guide Association (STGA) that it was illegal tour buses that were causing congestion at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport late last month. He said the photos provided by the STGA news reports proved only to be private vehicles, pointing out that the ministry is also receiving fewer complaints about illegal tour buses operations in recent times. On the contrary, Ag Ahmad Zaki wants STGA to keep its members in check, saying he had discovered throughout the course of the campaign last year that tourist guides were also selling tour packages. He noted that this was illegal, noting that guides were not supposed to sell packages, other than tour operators who are the only ones licensed to do so. "We will be holding a meeting with the tour guides associations soon including STGA. "But we want these bodies to act tough with its members like the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, where they would expel any members who had gone against the law," he pointed out. Ag Ahmad Zaki also warned that Motac will be tough on touts and illegal tour operators who set up makeshift offices in several coffee shops around the city.   Source: Daily Express
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Have the desire, artists told

Kota Kinabalu: Art should be seen as another tool to raise one's socio-economic status and standard of living but artists must have the desire to excel instead of looking at it as a quick way of getting money. Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the problem with some local artists is their nonchalant attitude and their lack of ambition when it comes to changing their fortune through their art. "You know, a good quality batik, like the one produced at the Keningau Handicraft Centre could fetch up to RM500 and more. Some exporters actually bought them in bulk and retailed them for RM1,500 each. "A good and passionate artist would only need to produce three or four pieces of high-quality batik a month and they could already live off the proceeds. All they have to do is spend some sleepless nights producing these works of art," he said when officiating the 1st Sabah Design Competition 2016 here, Monday. Some artists however, he said, tend to think only in terms of quantity and not quality when producing something because of over-commercialisation. He recalled his experience of meeting the world-famous batik designer the late Iwan Tirta whose cheapest product is sold at thousands of ringgit. Masidi said when he asked Iwan why the extravagant price for a batik shirt, Iwan told him it was because he does not sell shirts, but his art. "There are differences between a good batik and a plain batik. A good batik is a labour of love while a plain batik is the one you buy because you want to attend a function. So aim to produce a good batik instead of a plain one," he said. On another note, he said the competition, which is organised by the KDCA Women's Council in partnership with Sabah Arts Gallery and Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu, will help to preserve the local cultural heritage and improve its quality so that it would become a marketable product in the international market. He said Sabah has a lot of cultural heritage that could be showcased to the larger audience but the lack of expertise and desire to commercialise it hinders its progress. "The objective of KDCA Women Council in organising this competition is to give space to artists to feature their products and add value to their art through this competition which emphasises high-quality and saleable art. "I believe that Sabah has much cultural heritage which we could further improve and innovate so they could be used to generate higher income to participants and what we need is people with experiences in this field to show us the way forward such as KDCA Business Development Committee Organising Chair Jo Luping," he said. Masidi said Luping's experience in New Zealand is very valuable towards producing the same result locally. Some of the products, created for the competition, will be put on display at the Sabah Arts Centre if only to convince Sabahans that sometimes, there are things which they have taken too lightly in the past are actually of very high value to some people. Meanwhile, KDCA Women's Council Chairperson Joanna Kitingan said the competition aims to celebrate contemporary Kadazandusun design in conjunction with the Kaamatan month. The competition is divided into two categories namely 2D for paintings and prints and batik of maximum size 100 x 100 cm and 3D for contemporary objects inspired by traditional handicrafts, weaving and basketry of maximum size 100 x 100cm. The closing date for submission is Sept 1 and selected and winning designs will be exhibited at Le Meridien Kota Kinabalu and Sabah Arts Gallery. For those whose designs were chosen for further commercialisation, a commission will be paid alongside any cash prizes that are to be won. "Our long-term vision is to innovate traditional Kadazandusun design and transform it into contemporary objects of design, so that we can sell our unique Kadazandusun arts and crafts to an international market," said Luping. Through projects such as this competition, she said, they hope to portray and celebrate Kadazandusun culture as well as develop Kadazandusun women artisans and Kadazandusun communities. "We will start by developing a database of artists and designers through programmes such as this and design competition. The aim is to eventually market these designs onto an international stage," she said. Further information can be obtained by contacting Flavian at 017-8115240 or Elaine at 016-8360127 or email them at kdcawc@gmail.com or find them on Facebook under KDCA Women's Council. Source: Daily Express
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Sabah hunts the hunters in fight against bushmeat trade

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department is going after hunters in its bid to curb illegal trade of bushmeat in the state. Its enforcement chief Augustine Tuuga said they arrested two groups of hunters last week as part of this effort. He declined to provide details of the arrests but said the hunters were found to be in possession of wild boar, barking deer, pangolin and civet cats. “We are going after the suppliers of bushmeat and we think this is the best approach in dealing with this problem,” he told The Star on Tuesday. He said they were of the view that going after people selling wildlife meat at "tamu" (farmers markets) in interior districts such as Nabawan can lead to dangerous situations for enforcement staff. “The worry is that the situation can suddenly turn awry when our staff seize the bushmeat. There are not only the vendors but also hundreds of people at the markets,” Augustine added. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun had said that department personnel had been threatened when carrying out checks at the Nabawan tamu. It was also reported last November that a conservationist was threatened when he tried taking photos of bushmeat on sale at the market. On Tuesday, the media here received an anonymous e-mail questioning why the department had not taken action against the rampant sale of bushmeat in Nabawan. A group calling itself Wildlife Watchers of Sabah also sent to the media photos of bushmeat sale in Nabawan as recently as April 30. Source : The Star
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Ensure tourist boats have valid permits: Kamarlin

Beaufort: Tourism operators offering marine services in the State need to ensure that their tourist boats have a valid permit from the Marine Department. Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Kamarlin Ombi said it was important as the approval can only be given if the boats fulfil the safety requirements established by the department. He said the regulations were a main condition to ensure the safety of tourists in the boats is assured, especially in the open sea. "If the terms are not met, then our ministry will not be responsible for any incident as it is clear that the tourism operator did not want to follow the regulations. "We take a serious view on such matters as the safety of tourists is our priority and stern action will be taken on those who fail to comply," he said after officiating the closing of the community integration programme in conjunction with Kaamatan 2016, here, Wednesday. Kamarlin said each boat driver needs to have a boat licence from the department and skilled in aspects of compass navigation and knowledge of the open sea. He said the skill is among the criteria required of tourism operators before taking anyone as a worker to ensure the safety of tourists. "We do not want an incident where boats are lost or adrift due to untrained boat drivers as strong winds or waves can happen suddenly at sea which are challenging even to experienced boat drivers. "Not only that, they also need to possess life-saving skills in case of any emergency involving tourists under their care when conducting activities at sea." During the event, Kamarlin also presented certificates of appreciation to 80 neighbourhood watch personnel from the peninsula, Sarawak and Labuan that participated in the programme co- organised by the National Unity and Integration Department.   Source: Daily Express
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Mabul World Turtle Day on May 3-8

Kota Kinabalu: The fourth edition of Mabul World Turtle Day will be held from May 3-8 at the Borneo Divers Mabul Resort.The programme is jointly organised by the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Semporna District Office, Borneo Connections, Raintree Beach and Golf Resort and The Flying Dusun. "The event aims to create public awareness, while enhancing education, research and conservation of the resident sea turtle population in the waters of Mabul Island in Semporna. "In order to have a successful programme, we are calling for the participation of various agencies, including media organisations. "We are also opening the event to resort guests in Mabul as well as the students from SK Mabul and the School of Hope Mabul to allow them to get hands-on experiences with sea turtle research," the organisers said in a statement. During the course of the programme, Dr Pushpa Palaniappan and her team from UMS' Borneo Marine Research Institute will photograph, measure and tag all the resident green and hawksbill turtles caught in their natural habitat in Mabul by the expert dive team. "The team caught 74 turtles – 65 greens and nine hawksbills, during the celebration of Mabul Turtle Day 2015, and we hope to match this total during the programme this year." For more information, visit www.facebook.com/BorneoDiversMabulResort.
Source : Daily Express
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