07Nov

Celebrating Sabah’s natural and cultural diversity in London

LONDON: UK-Sabah relationship dates way back to the days of British North Borneo (now Sabah), said Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew.“We even went through war together with some 600 British Prisoners of War (POWs) who perished on the infamous Sandakan to Ranau  Death March 74 years ago.“But not all is grey and gloom. We have had other great success stories which we have shared in recent years. Notably, Sir David Attenborough (an English natural historian who had visited Sabah to do documentaries), who needs no introduction, had done great justice in portraying Sabah’s rich flora and fauna to the world,” she said at “An Evening with the Honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment” here, Monday. Liew hosted the dinner reception with the theme “Celebrating Sabah’s Natural and Cultural Biodiversity” at Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill in conjunction with the World Travel Market (WTM) London 2019, which ended on Wednesday.The 30-odd guests comprised conservationists, naturalists, wildlife experts, presenters and owners of tour operators from the UK.Present were the Director of Tourism Malaysia London, Mohd Shahrir Mohd Ali, George Jessel (great grandson of Sir Charles Jessel who founded Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), and representatives from Sabah’s tour operators participating in the WTM London under the auspices of Sabah Tourism Board (STB), namely Borneo Eco Tours, Borneo Nature Tours and Borneo Beyond Adventure.The Minister also paid tribute to English TV presenter Kate Humble, who specialises in wildlife programmes, for documenting her trip to Sabah, and Dame Judi Dench (a renowned Oscar-winning British actress, who turns 85 this year) for a two-part series on her Wild Borneo Adventure.Dench visited Sabah in April this year to film a documentary on the Danum Valley Conservation Area as part of her crusade to help save Borneo’s rainforest and its endangered species. She adopted three orang utans during her visit, which reportedly left her speechless. Saying the Orang Utan UK Appeal has been a great companion to Sabah at the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sandakan since 2000, she said: “We thank you for the exchange of knowledge and also your immense contribution in helping us preserve the endangered Orang Utan.”Liew said the State Government has conferred the title of Datuk on the Founder cum Chairperson of Orang Utan UK Appeal, Susan Sheward in recognition of her great work in raising funds for the protection and rescue of endangered wildlife in Sabah. Orang Utan UK is a charity dedicated to the rehabilitation and preservation of orang utans, and conservation of their habitat.In addition, Cardiff University’s students based in the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC), Kinabatangan, are also contributing great information on their field research.Meanwhile, the Minister said the State Government has reached a milestone through the formulation of wildlife-related policies such as the 10-year Elephant Conservation Action Plan (2020-2030) to prevent extinction of the Borneo Pygmy elephant.“For instance, a pangolin sanctuary to be established within the protected Tawau Hills Park, is set to become Sabah’s new wildlife tourist attraction,” she said.According to Liew, Tawau was picked as a suitable location for the pangolin sanctuary because it has a vast forest. “It will be a suitable place for pangolins because there’s plenty of food supply there such as insects (termites and ants),” she explained, adding that with a proper sanctuary, more effective and efficient conservation efforts will be made.The occasion was an opportunity to promote Sabah books such as “Curry Leaves” compiled by the wife of Chief Minister, Datin Seri Shuryani Shuaib, “Wild Sabah” produced by wildlife expert Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne and “Opogi - The Bornean Crocodile” authored by journalist Jaswinder Kaur Kler. Liew presented copies of these books to all guests. Source: Daily Express
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04Mar

Sabah traditional dancers perform in London

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Commonwealth Society has recently invited Sabahan Abroad UK to perform Sabahan traditional dances ‘Sumazau, Daling-Daling, Magunatip’ at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Family Day 2019. This Commonwealth Family Day is to celebrate diverse range of cultures and wide variety of art forms from across the Commonwealth. Hundreds of families with children attended the event to enjoy traditional performances from Commonwealth countries and folk stories from around the world. The Pangkis, a piercing shout of the lead male dancer, filled the hall. The sound of the gongs soared up gloriously. The dancers took their places and embraced the music. With grace and poise, they slowly swayed rhythmically in sync to the rhythm of the gongs. Like the waves and wind pushing through the wild sea, they danced as if it was the only way to be. With every beat of the gong, one could almost feel, understand the love story of a beautiful history, and just like that, enchantingly, the audience were transported back to North Borneo – every essence of the beat speaks of the beauty of the home they call Land Below the Wind. The Commonwealth Family Day Celebration at Westminster Abbey, London was a fun-filled family event showcasing great performances from various groups representing some of the Commonwealth countries. Performers included London’s Maori Choir with their traditional Fijian dance, sega dancers from Mauritius and classical Indian Kuchipudi dance. The Kulintangan Dance Group from Sabahan Abroad UK had the honour of representing Malaysia. They highlighted the traditional dances of the three largest ethnic groups in Sabah. After some brief introduction from Maya and Christian, the dancers performed the Penampang and Papar sumazau, followed by the Bajau’s famous courtship dance, endearingly known as the Daling Daling. Their performance ended on a high with the Magunatip , a Murut tribal bamboo dance to celebrate the homecoming of victorious warriors. As the dancers took heir last pose, an abrupt wave of cheers and applause echoed the hall. They did their motherland proud! The guests were then invited to try the Magunatip bamboo dance. Kids and adults happily volunteered to join and experience the fun. The Kulintangan Dance Group, consisting of Alfred, Laura, Jessie, Izman, Marie, Joel, Leona, Fred and Denis, with Nelda acting as group manager, is a sub division of Sabahan Abroad UK, a non- profit organisation based in England. Sabahan Abroad UK hopes that by participating in events such as the Commonwealth Family Day, it can help promote Sabah’s cultural and social diversity at an international level. The Kulintangan Dance Group are looking forward to being present at many future cultural and tourism related events. They hope by showcasing the cultural beauty of Sabah’s various ethnic groups, this will encourage more tourists from the UK and Europe to choose Sabah, and Malaysia in general, as their next travel destination. As for the Kulintangan Dance Group, it was a surreal and proud moment to have been given the opportunity to represent their country and culture, and share the love of their heritage at the renowned Westminster Abbey. This is one experience they will treasure for a lifetime. Sabahan Abroad UK believes this performance and activity can allow many visitors to pay more attention at the indigenous groups in Borneo. It is looking forward to being present at many other cultural and tourism related events in future and is confident the impacts of visual information and visual communication can be a great motivating factor to lead travellers with different cultural background to select Malaysia to be their travel destination. Sabahan Abroad UK is a community organisation and a non-profit organisation based in  the United Kingdom. It is the first established community organisation in the United Kingdom  since 2000. As of today, there are at least 700 Sabahans residing in the UK with 54 students under the scholarship of Public Service Department, Mara and self-sponsored. The aims of the organisation are to create a sense of belonging for  many Sabahans who live in the UK through social gatherings, sports and festival celebrations. Another aim is to promote Sabah’s cultural and social diversity by organising and participating in various cultural and social events in the UK. It hopes its events and activities in London, United Kingdom can help develop cultural tourism and offer new opportunity to promote Sabah cultural tourism in the United Kingdom and Europe. Its ambition is to set up a cultural centre in London to enhance friendship, amity and understanding between Malaysia and the UK through cultural and education activities. It believes its dedication towards this programme can help further develop established its cultural projects, introduce new opportunities to expand our Malaysian events for many visitors from the UK and Europe. Source: The Borneo Post
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15Nov

East Coast travel packages launched in WTM

KOTA KINABALU: The East Coast of Sabah gets a significant push at the World Travel Mart held in London. A properly-packed travel attraction has been put together to ensure that the region is benefiting from the fast-growing tourism industry. It has been said that the world’s centuries-old love affair with Borneo centres around her impenetrable rainforests and exotic creatures and cultures. Sir David Attenborough had said that Borneo is one of the most unique and biodiverse places on this planet. Today, much of Borneo specifically Sabah are still mostly untouched, and the Government intends for it to stay that way. Sabah Tourism Board introduces a sampler of this exoticness through an East Coast-themed packaged tours loaded with Bornean wilderness. Tour designs vary from length of stay to levels of difficulty for experiences in Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau divisions where high concentration of rustic surroundings, natural settings and wildlife can be seen. Visitors can expect to enjoy primate-spotting of up to ten species, from the smallest Western Tarsier to the great ape orang-utan; to bizarre creatures like flying snakes and carnivorous plants all compacted in Sabah. About 60% of Sabah is covered with vegetation and out of that, 30% or 2.2 million hectares will be totally protected areas by 2025. General Manager of Sabah Tourism Board, Suzaini Sabdin Ghani who was representing the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, when launching the East Coast packages at Excel said, “Sabah is the lead for conservation work in Malaysia and it shows. Our strong policies keep much of our land intact and conservation areas like Maliau Basin, Danum Valley and Imbak Canyon exemplary models. “These areas are open to visitors and are suitable for long-haul guests who appreciate quality nature-based attractions and high-end treatment at the same time.” Suzaini also stated that the board is partnering with various regional airlines in reestablishing long-haul connectivity and direct access to Sabah’s wilderness. The recent partnership with BBC presenter Kate Humble, who experienced Sandakan herself, enabled the board to reemphasize visiting the East Coast to a wider audience, Suzaini said. Next year, the board will further use digital marketing to intensify the exposure and reach needed to draw interests in Sabah’s conservation gems in the East Coast.   Source: New Sabah Times
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09Nov

Sabah East Coast packages launched in London

First row (standing) left to right: MATTA President Datuk KL Tan, STB General Manager Suzaini Sabdin Ghani, Tourism, Culture and Arts Malaysia Minister Datuk Mohamadin Ketapi, Tourism Malaysia chairman Datuk Ahmad Shah Hussein Tambakau with Sabah agents (standing behind) witnessing the launch of the East Coast package.

KOTA KINABALU: The world’s centuries-old love affair with Borneo centres around her impenetrable rainforests and exotic creatures and cultures. Sir David Attenborough once said that Borneo is one of the most unique and biodiverse places on this planet. Today, much of Borneo, specifically Sabah, the northern Malaysian state in the island, are still mostly untouched, and the government intends for it to stay that way. This month at the World Travel Mart, Sabah Tourism introduces a sampler of this exoticness through an East Coast-themed packaged tours loaded with Bornean wilderness. Tour designs vary from length of stay to levels of difficulty for experiences in Sabah’s Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau divisions where high concentration of rustic surroundings, natural settings and wildlife can be seen. Promises of primate-spotting of up to ten species, from the smallest Western Tarsier to the great ape orang-utan; to bizarre creatures like flying snakes and carnivorous plants all compacted in Sabah. About 60% of Sabah is covered with vegetation and out of that, 30% or 2.2 million hectares will be totally protected areas by 2025. General Manager of Sabah Tourism Board, Suzaini Sabdin Ghani who was representing the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, when launching the East Coast packages at Excel said, “Sabah is the lead for conservation work in Malaysia and it shows. Our strong policies keep much of our land intact and conservation areas like Maliau Basin, Danum Valley and Imbak Canyon exemplary models. “These areas are open to visitors and are suitable for long-haul guests who appreciate quality nature-based attractions and high-end treatment at the same time.” Suzaini also stated that the board is partnering with various regional airlines in re-establishing long-haul connectivity and direct access to Sabah’s wilderness. The recent partnership with BBC presenter Kate Humble, who experienced Sandakan herself, enabled the board to reemphasize visiting the East Coast to a wider audience, Suzaini said. Next year, the board will further use digital marketing to intensify the exposure and reach needed to draw interests in Sabah’s conservation gems in the East Coast. Surely, the world’s fascination with Borneo will continue.
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