08Sep

Three day carnival to mark Malaysia Day

KOTA KINABALU: A three-day carnival will mark Malaysia Day celebrations here The celebrations that are expected to draw a crowd of 30,000 over the three days will see a host of activities including songs, dance, cultural shows and exhibitions on the country’s digital age progress. State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry permanent secretary Datuk Rusmaidi Sulai said that unlike previous Malaysia Day celebrations,  the event would be spread over three days starting with the eve of Malaysia Day on Sept 15. “We want people irrespective of their political ideologies, race, religion or region to come and celebrate Malaysia,” he told a press conference here Friday.
He said the theme was in line with the National Day celebrations  ‘Negaraku: Sehati Sejiwa' (My Country: One Heart, One Soul) as it was aimed at instilling unity to strengthen national integration among all Malaysians.
Rusmaidi said that Sabah Yang Di Pertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin will be the chief guest of the event that will be attended by Prime Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, his deputy Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and ministers of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Seri Musa Aman and Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg on Sept 16. The highlight of the celebrations would be the involvement of 1,500 youths that will provide a variety of entertainment to reflect the colours of Malaysia. “It is very refreshing entertainment and we can assure that public will not be bored,” he said. Entertainers from Astro and RTM will also be performing during the celebrations. Source : The Star
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08Sep

Sabah Parks man appoint to World Heritage panel

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Parks director Jamili Nais has become the first Malaysian to be a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Heritage panel.
The 52-year-old Sabahan said that he was “shocked and surprised” that he was picked to become a member of the 13-member panel that oversees nominations for World Heritage Site and reviews conservation reports for the World Heritage Committee.
He said that he applied in September last year to be member of the panel after getting the green light from state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun “It is a big responsibility,” said Jamili at a press conference where Masidi announced Jamili’s appointment to the world body. “The applications are really competitive. I did not expect to be selected out of all the worldwide applications,” said the Ranau native who oversees Sabah Parks nature and marine parks including Mount Kinabalu, a world heritage site. He will be the only representative from Asia on the current panel which will serve for the next four years. A botanist trained at University Teknologi Mara and who did his PhD in plant ecology at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, Jamili has about 29 years of experience in Sabah Parks which he has headed for the last three years. According to Jamili, he met with the strict with the strict IUCN requirements which included experience in working at evaluating World Heritage Sites and knowledge on geological and natural science among others. He said that he had worked on evaluation of Kinabalu Park and was involved in the evaluation of Tubbatha Reef in the Philippines as a nominee and was a facilitator for the nomination of Hiroshima in Japan. His first meeting will be in Gland Switzerland from Dec 4-8. Masidi said that Jamili’s appointment was a pride to not only Sabah but all Malaysians. Source: The Star
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28Jul

Sabah lines up 16 programmes for National Month

KOTA KINABALU: The state-level month-long National Day celebration will kick off on August 1 at the Dataran Dewan Bandaraya with 16 programmes lined up. Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor told a press conference here yesterday that the launching of the ‘Bulan Kebangsaan dan Kibar Jalur Gemilang 2017’ event will be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Hajiji, who is the chairman of the state-level celebration’s organising committee, said the theme of the event is ‘Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa’ and it was chosen as solidarity and unity strengthens national integration among Malaysia’s multi-racial society. The event will culminate on August 31 where the annual National Day Parade will be held at Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and it will be graced by Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, he disclosed. “Other than the motorised floats and march by uniformed bodies, schools and state agencies, there will also be a cultural performance,” Hajiji added. According to Hajiji, among the 16 activities lined up during the month are the ‘Pertandingan Pidato NegaraKu’, ‘Anugerah Keceriaan NegaraKu Bulan Kebangsaan’, ‘Kembara Merdeka NegaraKu 2017’, ‘Program NegaraKu@Komuniti’ and ‘Pertandingan Pengisahan NegeraKu’. He added that there will also be a photography competition, poster competition, exhibition on Malaysia, ‘Grafiti Ekspresi NegaraKu Malaysia’ and the conferring of the ‘Battle Honour’ Daulat 2013 award. He said in conjunction with National Month, the Sabah State Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) would conduct tahlil recital and prayers for safety. The Sabah Council of Churches would also hold prayers and fast for 40 days from Aug 1 till Sept 16 while Chinese associations representing Buddhist temples in Sabah would also hold prayers for the well-being and prosperity of the country, he said. “I urge all Sabahans to show their love for the country by raising the national and state flags on their buildings, residences, premises and even vehicles during the month-long celebration,” Hajiji said.   Source: TheBorneoPost
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26Jul

New Marine Aquarium Centre at Manukan Island Another Tourist Draw

KOTA KINABALU: The new Marine Aquarium Centre at Manukan Island will not only serve as a tourist attraction, but will also serve as a platform to educate the public on the importance and functions of marine life, especially sharks, said Sabah Parks director Dr Jamli Nais. “This aquarium will be the supplier of information and, hopefully, will inspire visitors to learn more about the importance and functions of sharks in the marine ecosystem. “This is in line with the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park’s declaration, which is to be a shark sanctuary along with the other marine parks in Sabah,” Jamli said at the soft launching of the aquarium yesterday. Jamli disclosed that among the types of sharks that will be displayed is a blacktip reef shark. He added that the park will be launched officially on September 1 and the entrance fee for the rest of the year will be free. “This concept all started from an idea which is to have a marine exhibition centre very close to the city. With this new centre that we have just built, it will be easier for tourists to come and visit, as Manukan Island is only a 15-minute boat journey from the city centre,” Jamli added. Yesterday’s event also marked the 43rd anniversary of the proclamation of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park. Over the past ten years, Tunku Abdul Rahman Park had recorded 1,234 accidents, and only 195 of these involved accidents where the victim had nearly drowned or drowned. Out of the 195 cases, only 5.1 per cent were fatal accidents. As of now, the parks in Sabah have a total of 48 coast guards and four dive marshals (all stationed at Sipadan Island). Twenty-eight of these coast guards are stationed at Tunku Abdul Rahman Park and 11 are in Manukan Island, Jamli said. Also present at the event were Tunku Abdul Rahman Park manager  Anthony Tinggi, and research officer cum marine biologist, Nasrulhakim Maidin. Source: TheBorneoPost
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24Jul

Sandakan Attracts Tourists with its History and Natural Heritage

EARLY morning flights from Kota Kinabalu to Sabah’s east coast town of Sandakan are usually full with many of the passengers comprising tourists. If they are lucky, they will have a breathtaking aerial view of Mount Kinabalu and the highlands surrounding it. That is just a taste of things to come because the Lower Kinabatangan region is the gateway to some of Sabah’s renowned natural attractions, including the proboscis monkey, Bornean pygmy elephants and the orang utan. Sepilok, about 30km from Sandakan town, is where the well-known orang utan rehabilitation centre is located. Here, the primates can be seen in their natural environment, a forest reserve. Sepilok is also home to the sun bear conservation centre as well as the rainforest discovery centre where visitors can literally walk between jungle treetops. For the more adventurous, an hour’s boat ride from Sandakan town to the Sulu Sea are three islands — Pulau Selinga, Pulau Bakungan Kecil and Pulau Gulisan — that collectively make up Sabah’s turtle islands. The turtles are said to land almost every night to lay their eggs on these islands. In fact, Malaysia’s first turtle hatchery was set up at Pulau Selingan in 1966. As the first administrative centre of North Borneo (the former name for Sabah),
Sandakan has a number of historical landmarks, some dating back to the late 1800s. Among them are Masjid Jamek and the Sam Sing Kung temple in the downtown area as well as the St Michael All Angels church nearby. Another historical landmark is the house where author Agnes Newton Keith lived prior to World War 2. Keith wrote about her experiences in her book, Land Below the Wind, that has since become a tagline for Sabah. Sandakan Kapitan Cina or community leader James Leong has witnessed the transformation of his town over the years. “Whatever the changes, Sandakan will always have that small-town feel. Here, everyone knows each other.” Source: TheStar
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