20Nov

Fun and surf in Kudat

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s tip of Borneo in Kudat will be alive with music, fun activities and water sports from Nov 24 to 26 as the Music and Surf Festival takes place during these days. The event, which will be held at Kalampunian Beach, Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, will see an array of activities including a surfing competition and concert by local artistes for the public to enjoy. Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said the three-day event was aimed at promoting the beautiful beaches of Kudat as a tourism destination for outdoor activities and surf culture. “We also want to showcase the tradition and customs of the Rungus community there,” he said during a press conference on Thursday. This festival will kickstart with a surfing competition on Nov 24, exclusively for participants while those who wish to try out this new sport in Sabah can do so the next two days. Joniston said Kudat is named one of the best surfing destinations because of its seasonal waves varying from one to six feet, sandy beaches and clear water. He said although surfing is a new adventure sport, especially among locals in Sabah, it is fast gaining popularity. “Those interested in learning how to surf are encouraged to attend scheduled surf clinics on Nov 25 and 26,” he added. The prize presentation for the surfing competition will be held on the last day of the festival. Winners stand to take home cash prizes, trophies and goodie bags worth RM8,000. Young surfers called Groms are also in the running for trophies, goodie bags and surf accessories worth of RM500 each. There will also be a “Best in Borneo Surfer” title in search of the best performing local surfers too. The admission-free concert, which will be held on Nov 25 from 4.30pm onwards, will feature artistes such as Atmosfera, Beverly Matujal, Francis Landong, Jonathan Tse, Ayumi Yusof, Sarma Cherry, Rhythm of Heartbeat Nature, Akar Rimba, and Borneo Cakrawala Band. There will be a special appearance of Aunty Patrin (radio personality and YouTube character) and Rayner Pailus as well as Sabah’s Elvis Presley. Festival-goers will be able to enjoy fire dance performances, and DJ Eflexx and brothers will be spinning music at night. A “Dangers of Rip Current” Awareness Campaign and handicrafts exhibition will also be held during the event while food trucks will be parked throughout the programme to satisfy the taste buds of festival-goers. The Music and Surf Fest @ The Tip Of Borneo, Kudat is an event organised by Sri Pelancongan Sabah with support from Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry and Sabah Tourism Board, Sabah Surf Association and Kudat District Office. It is sponsored by Rip Curl, K2 and Tritonic. For details, contact Winceslaus Gerald Autine of Sri Pelancongan Sabah at 088-232 121 or email wences@sabahtourism.com. Contact Fina of the Sabah Surfing Association at 012-306 9977 for competition details.
Source: Star Online
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20Oct

Borneo Bird Festival starts in KK

SANDAKAN: The Borneo Bird Festival, a celebration of the magnificent birds of Borneo, is making its return this year with more exciting programmes. The celebration aims to create public awareness of bird conservation efforts, to promote bird watching and encourage eco-tourism activities. This year marks the 9th edition of this annual festival which will be held, for the first time, in Kota Kinabalu from today, October 20 to 22, this year. Among the highlights of the three-day programmes are the Nature & Wildlife Talks, Booth Exhibits and showcase of Birding Equipment at the Imago Mall, from 10am to 10pm, today to Sunday. In addition, Photography Contests, Guided Birding Walks at Tanjung Aru Park, as well as the much-anticipated Sabah Bird Race at the Crocker Range Park will also be held over the weekend. Over the past eight years, Borneo Bird Festival has been successful at fostering greater awareness of nature and conservation efforts. It had created bonds among participants, both local and international. The festival is a great platform for the gathering of nature enthusiasts and provides a great opportunity to reach out and interact with the community. The Borneo Bird Festival was first created back in 2009 at the Rainforest Discovery Centre in Sandakan. It aims not only to showcase Sabah as a premier bird destination in this region, but more importantly, it serves as a platform to create a further sense of appreciation for the birds of Borneo and ultimately, lead to the conservation of nature and preservation of its environment. The festival organisers hoped that the local community in the west coast would take full advantage of this chance to participate in this colourful festival and attend talks and presentations by various invited guest speakers, as admission to the festival at Imago is free. The Borneo Bird Festival is organised by the Sandakan Borneo Bird Club and supported by Sabah Parks, Sabah Tourism Board, Tourism Malaysia and Sabah Wildlife Department. For further information, visit http://www.borneobirdfestival.com/ or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BorneoBirdFestival/ Source : The Borneo Post
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11Sep

Bamboo and ginger pioneers honoured at festival

TAMBUNAN: Two bamboo and ginger pioneers in this area received certificates of appreciation at the district level Bamboo and Ginger Festival held at Pisompuruan Square here last Thursday. They are the late Peter Lupang Tingkalus, the bamboo pioneer, and Supilin Galingai, the ginger pioneer. Deputy Chief Minister cum Infrastructure Development Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, who officiated at the festival, presented the certificates to both recipients, with Mrs Cathrine Peter representing her late father in receiving his certificate. The late Peter hailed from Bingkor, Keningau and was a Forestry Department employee who worked as a Forest Guard in 1936. At the time, the number of bamboo plants in the Tambunan area had been greatly reduced due to uncontrolled bamboo consumption as it was used in almost all aspects of community life in the area. After realising the problem and worrying about the extinction of bamboo plants in the area, Peter along with OKK Taliban had embarked on a preliminary effort to control the cutting and harvesting of bamboo trees by issuing special permits. Special permits issued would be requested by the villagers on the condition that each one of the logged bamboos be replaced by planting 10 more bamboo shoots. This step proved to be effective even until today as the local community could see the number of bamboo groups growing throughout the district. The culture of planting bamboo among the population is still ongoing to this day and it is not surprising that in addition to being called ‘The Switzerland of the East’, Tambunan has also been proclaimed as the Bamboo Valley by a handful of outside communities. Meanwhile, Supilin, born May 4, 1960, is a married man with five children from Kampung Tikolod Tambunan. He started planting ginger in 1981, where ginger seeds were obtained from Yayang Sanat at Tamu Tambunan. After a year of planting ginger, he saw that this commodity crop had a very high potential as the climate and condition of Tambunan’s landscape were very suitable for this crop. He did not waste any time in making the decision to move from being a common cultivator to a grocery wholesaler to market the product outside the district around 1983. The results were a turning point for the progress and development of the ginger industry in the district as more people began to cultivate ginger. This was evident when many cultivators started opening and clearing forest areas to plant ginger on a larger scale. The existence of a single ginger wholesaler at the time provided an advantage to ginger cultivators as they could sell their ginger directly to Supilin without having to worry about marketing and transportation problems. Source : Borneo Post
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09Aug

Moginakan Fest unites the people

RANAU: The Moginakan Festival is a platform of harmony and unity for the people, asserted Assistant Minister Local Government and Housing Datuk Joachim Gunsalam. “I feel grateful to see the presence of various parties and the people who are looking forward to this festival because this cultural celebration is uniting us,” he said. Moginakan refers to the annual Reunion Festival of the great multi ethnic Kadazan Dusun family, while calling to ancestral spirits and souls of all departed, said Joachim during the closing ceremony of the Moginakan Festival at Nunuk Ragang Hall here recently. “This is an example of harmonious and pluralistic society which should be celebrated by all parties’ regardless the political boundaries. “It teaches us the importance of unity as the foundation to strengthen the harmony of our rich ethnic and cultural diversity.” He said Moginakan is a time to meet friends and celebrate the festival together even though this is a Merdeka month. “And the presence of visitors have also proved how strong the spirit of brotherhood, friendship, sense of belonging and unity that has become a culture and daily life befitting the spirit of “NEGARAKU” and the theme of “MOGINAKAN” ,” enthused Joachim. He believed the involvement and commitment of all people especially the Kadazandusun Culture Association of Ranau(KDCA) in making the celebration a success through the display of traditional costumes, cuisines, “Rombituon” competition (singing competition) and others have strengthened the sense of belonging and friendship as well as allows us to understand the heritage of a race. He urged the people to always be with the government for the welfare and progress of the state. “Let’s support the government in order to build and develop the country and state successfully” called Joachim. “We need all the ethnics to stay united to develop Sabah because no one can do it alone,” he said. Meanwhile, Joachim also announced that the KDCA President Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan will allocate RM10,000 to KDCA Ranau to do the rewiring work of the Nunuk Ragang building in response to a request. Source: New Sabah Times
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07Aug

Sabah Fitness Festival reaches new milestone

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Fitness Festival 2017 reaches a new milestone as it approaches its fourth installment from 11-13 August 2017. This annual event, organised in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, is the biggest lifestyle fitness event in East Malaysia, and will once again be hosting the much anticipated X45 Challenge, Sabah Open BJJ & Submission Grappling, a series of fitness education workshops by Fit Malaysia, a fitness exhibition, and other exciting activities. The objectives of Sabah Fitness Festival are to bring together a regional community, spread awareness on living a healthy lifestyle through health and fitness, and support the local industry by showcasing a variety of fitness products and services. Its theme “Fit For Life” speaks of fitness as a means to living a wholesome life. During its only qualifiers, the X45 Challenge saw over 300 athletes participate from all over the world, finally narrowing down to 190 athletes from countries such as U.S.A., Australia, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, and from throughout Malaysia. It is one of the biggest high intensity functional fitness tournaments in Asia and is very exciting to watch. For the first time this year, the X45 Challenge will be hosting a division of Junior athletes who are under the age of 18 years’ old. Sabah Open BJJ & Submission Grappling Tournament is East Malaysia’s premier grappling competition. Organised in partnership with Persatuan BJJ Negeri Sabah, the Sabah Open will feature grapplers from the around the region competing in men’s, women’s, and junior divisions in White Belt and Blue Belt levels. The SFF Fitness Exhibition will showcase brands, products and services from around the region. Vendors will include a genetics driven wellness company from Singapore, “Athleisure” apparel brands from Brunei, and there will be food and beverage booths run by local cafes. For those looking for a way to get to the venue, Uber will be providing RM7 off on all rides to and from the venue. – PR Source: New Sabah Times
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