08Nov

‘Diving all year round in Sabah’

SEMPORNA: THE year-long “End in Sipadan” campaign organised by the Tourism and Culture Ministry will not only promote Sabah’s diving trails, but also its local dive operators, said the ministry’s state director, Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar. “The ‘End in Sipadan’ campaign, held in collaboration with Sabah Backpackers Association, began in April and has reached its pinnacle here in Sipadan. “Throughout the journey, we saw our local dive operators doing a great job not just for the tourism industry, but also for the conservation of our reefs,” he said during a press conference in conjunction with the closing of the campaign here recently. He said dive operators in Mari Mari Sepanggar island here and Bum Bum Island in Semporna engaged with avid divers to build artificial reefs within respective house reefs. “Before the campaign, the heaps of rubbish in Sepanggar island could reach an average man’s shoulder. But, dive operators have cleared the garbage and transformed the island into a diving centre.” Ag Ahmad said dive operator Blue Fin Dive and Surf from Kudat built a community-based homestay, while ND Divers from Bum Bum island provided jobs opportunities to the locals. As for Kudat-based Pirate Divers, its founder, Glen Hapirullah, sketched several hundred underwater maps in Malaysia, including 44 diving sites in Lahad Datu. Ag Ahmad said diver Abdul Razak Ismail, 33, from Semporna, took underwater videos to promote the campaign, adding that one of his videos gained 14,000 views in three months. The campaign, he said, had also helped 15 media personnel obtain diving licences to better promote the state’s diving trails. Present at the press conference were the ministry’s Pahang director, Datuk Idrus Yahya, and Sabah Backpackers Association president Richie Lee. “The ‘End in Sipadan’ pro-gramme is the continuation of the ministry’s ‘Start in Tioman’ campaign in Pahang, which began in 2010 and offered diving course to media personnel,” said Idrus. He said the programme in Tioman aimed to encourage people to take up diving. “People will not only spend money on diving, but also on activities that we have created for them before they board a plane home. “Besides that, the programme made people appreciate nature more because once the marine ecosystem is destroyed, divers will not be able to enjoy underwater activities anymore.” Volunteer Datin Chan Goek Kooi, from Johor, said she fully supported the campaign in Bum Bum island and in Sipadan. “As a dive operator, it is important for me to explore dive sites before promoting them to my clients.   Source: New Straits Times
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07Nov

Rejuvenating Kiulu nature trekking

KIULU: THE Kiulu district has come up with what is believed to be the first dedicated trekking trails spanning 45km from Tamparuli, here, to the hilly Pekan Nabalu. It offers the “Riverside Lung Washing Trekking Trails”, which live up to its reputation as a destination for adventure enthusiasts. The term “lung washing” has a scientific explanation associated with the act of taking a break in nature. Such an experience, away from city life distractions, is said to boost the immune system and help rejuvenate the body. Kiulu assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) chairman, launched the trails at Kampung Lubok, here, recently. He said the trails passed through several villages. Trekkers were recommended to spend three to four days there. They could start their journey from either Pekan Nabalu or the Tamparuli town, which is about an hour’s drive from Kota Ki- nabalu. Guides will be assigned to help them and they can spend their nights in community-managed base camps or village homestays. The routes were categorised from “easy” to “challenging” and trekkers could follow well-marked trails over undulating, small uphill sections. “Trekkers would be able to explore the Borneo lowland forest, learn basic jungle survival skills from the natives, identify wild indigenous medicinal plants as well as edible plants, and they can experience the culture and hospitality of the local people and see unique species of flora and fauna in the Kiulu forest. “Kiulu offers you an experience of a lifetime by taking you through one of the loveliest and untouched parts of Sabah,” said Joniston. Kiulu Tourism Association (KTA) president Dr Edmon Guntis added that trekkers could also expect to cross numerous suspension bridges, rivers and tri-butaries. “You can have local expert guides who can share their knowledge of the jungle, and at the same time, show you how to use the natural resources from the forest to your advantage in order to survive,” said Dr Edmon. The Tourism and Culture Ministry (Motac) Sabah office director Awang Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said the move to introduce the trekking trails was timely as the Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had described Kiulu as a model for rural tourism development in Ma-laysia. A few years ago, Nazri visited Kiulu’s tourist attractions and had a first-hand experience of white-water rafting along the Kiulu river, as well as trying out Sabah’s longest zip line at Kampung Rangalau Lama. Ahmad Zaki said locals would also benefit from this by giving the services required by trek-kers. “Besides offering services as guides, villagers along the trekking trails could also offer homestay services or open up stalls offering authenic local delicacies and handicrafts, among others,” he said.   Source: New Straits Times
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02Nov

Sabah provides better diving experience – deputy minister

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah provides better diving experience as compared to Peninsular Malaysia, said Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Wira Mas Ermieyati Samsudin. “This is my experience as a diver,” she said, adding that the diving industry in the country was getting bigger and was developing well. She related that the longest underwater human chain in Southeast Asia occurred at Pulau Bidong in West Malaysia just last month. The chain of 200 meters was created by 190 scuba divers at a depth of 14 meters and succeeded in creating a new record in the Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR) 2017. She cited that perhaps, the next record could be made in either Sipadan or Mabul, both located in the east coast of Sabah. Mas Ermieyati, who was at the National Transformation 2050 (TN50) programme for Sabah’s tourism sector held at the State Cultural Centre near here, hoped she would still be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Sabah by 2050 and she would still have the same feeling of enjoyment when she dives at Mabul in the future. “That is why it is very important for the people of Sabah to say what they want in order to get a better Sabah in 2050 … this is the time for them to share,” she said of the TN50 sharing session. She also said that Sabah has a huge tourism potential and the country hopes to be among the top 10th destination for tourist arrivals. “This all requires the input and aspirations from all the people of Sabah so that the government can take into account cultural sustainability and the local tourism,” she said. She noted that Sabah, with her rich mix in cultural background, ethnicity and attractive places, must share its experience so that its hopes and aspirations could help in the 2050 tourism policy which will be implemented soon. The deputy minister also said that the views and ideas shared with her ministry via its TN50 programme were crucial for formulating and drafting the nation’s tourism and cultural policy by 2050. She said the views from the people including the Sabahans would ensure that whatever the government decided to implement next would take into account aspects such as the country’s cultural sustainability, heritage and ecotourism. “All the opinions and aspirations shared through this programme will be collected and submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,” she said. Mas Ermieyati said the TN50 programme themed Fine Culture, Sustainable Tourism, aimed at making the country’s tourism and cultural sectors as major contributors to the socio-economy apart from empowering arts, culture and heritage. “This Motac TN50 dialogue is the second event organised by the ministry, following the first one that was held in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 17. There were three aspects discussed throughout the programme, namely culture, tourism and human development,” she said. Source : Borneo Post
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30Oct

MOTAC considers volcano tourism

TAWAU: The Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) Sabah office is mulling the idea of promoting volcano tourism in Sabah. They have seen the potential after exploring the Tawau Hills National Park recently under its Sabah Sustainability Volunsharing Programme (SSVP) in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Volcano tourism is not a new global phenomenon, but something new in Malaysia. During the expedition, volunteers inspected the dormant Bombalai volcano which last erupted thousands of years ago. What remains of it is an ancient crater. Its cinder cone is only a half-an-hour’s jungle walk from the entrance of the park. The exploration involved 10 students and staff of UMS and MOTAC Sabah with the guidance of the park’s authority. The entourage was welcomed by the park’s assistant senior manager Jufri Nasri. There are two volcanic attractions within the park – the sulphurous springs with warm turquoise water and white sulphur substance deposits, and the ancient crater at Mount Lucia, one of the three large mountains inside the park. Outside the park, there are other volcanic attractions such as Columnar Joints along the Balung River and Conical Sprouts at Andrassy. Both sites are accessible from Tawau town. UMS Faculty of Business, Economics and Accountancy, senior lecturer in tourism Dr Awangku Hassanal Bahar Pengiran Bagul said volcano tourism usually integrates with recreational activities such as sightseeing, hiking, climbing, camping or even mountaineering. If the volcano tourism site is highly popular, it can be recognised as an independent tourism sector or as a value added adventure experience under the umbrella of geo-tourism, he said. “We were excited to learn more about Sabah’s volcanic geo heritage and I believe the identification of the different aspects of geo heritage site values is part of a holistic concept of protection, education and sustainable development of Tawau Hills Park and the surroundings area,” said Dr Hassanal. MOTAC Sabah director Ag Ahmad Zaki Abu Bakar said: “We are happy with this programme (SSVP) and wish to continue this in the near future. We had been collaborating since 2015 and won few recognitions”. Both bodies have been running the SSVP focusing on the sustainability issues in the tourism industry with previous theme of heritage trail and tagal ecotourism. The SSVP is the winner for IKON Award (High Impact University-Community Engagement Award) from UMS in 2016. Source : New Sabah Times
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27Oct

KK Court group intensifies tree planting effort

KOTA KINABALU: The Kota Kinabalu Court Working Group on Environment is continuing their reforestation campaign with more trees to be planted in Lahad Datu. The group is hoping to have new tree saplings planted in 134.56 hectares in the Bukit Piton Class I Forest Reserve in Lahad Datu. The effort is supported by The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Malaysia. Its chief executive officer and executive director of WWF Malaysia, Dato’ Dr Dionysius Sharma said the effort in Bukit Piton is a collaboration between Sabah Forestry Department (SFD), WWF-Malaysia and WWF Singapore, and funded by Binkaitree, Holywell Foundation, The Silent Foundation and Foord Asset Management Singapore. “We will plant 156 trees per hectare in this plot, which translates to 20,990 trees in total. The planting has just commenced this month and by end of December this year, we estimate that 30 hectares will be planted with 4,680 trees,” he said on the amount of trees that still needs to be planted for the ‘One Heart One Tree’ programme at the Kota Kinabalu Court yesterday. According to him, WWF Malaysia has been reforesting the formerly degraded Bukit Piton since 2007 for the survival of tree-dependant orangutans which are thriving in the area. “To date we have planted almost one million trees in Bukit Piton and we have observed orangutans using them as food, shelter and for travel, five years after the planting, “Planting trees is a long-term investment, but the benefits are priceless, we get clean air, clean water, food, medicine and many more from the trees that we have around us. “Our children and their children can enjoy these benefits from the trees that we have planted, even long after are gone from this earth,” he added. He hoped the ‘One Heart One Tree’ movement will continue to grow and achieve its target of one million trees to be planted in Sabah by the end of the year. In the same event, Dionysius also disclosed that they are currently raising funds for another reforestation project in Trusan Sugut Class I Forest Reserve, Beluran, in collaboration with SFD. The aim is to restore a degraded area of 150 hectares with trees. The reforestation project will cost RM1.8 million. Meanwhile, High Court Judge, Datuk Nurchaya Arshad said that there is no denying the fact that the environment has to be protected and conserved to make future life possible, among other things. “Indeed, man’s needs are increasing and accordingly the environment is also being altered. What is required is the sustenance, conservation and improvement of the changing and fragile environment hence this campaign today,” she said. The campaign launched in Feb 3, this year, was inspired by Sabah and Sarawak Chief Justice Tan Sri Richard Malanjum who got the ball rolling. The final event will be held in Kundasang, Ranau on Dec16. Also present were Conservation director of WWF-Malaysia Dr Sundari Ramakrishna, High Court Judge Ravinthran Paramaguru, Judicial Commissioner Ismail Brahim, Bexter Agas Michael, SLA President Brenndon Keith Soh, Sessions Court Judges namely Azreena Aziz, Elsie Primus, Noorhafizah Mohd Salim, Indra Ayub, Magistrates Cindy Mc Juce Balitus and Jessica Ombou Kakayun. Source : New Sabah Times
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