Kota Kinabalu & Sabah News

Clean Environment and Fresh Air in Sabah

There is clean environment and fresh air in the mountains and river banks of Sabah.  This is being offered for tourists who want to get away from the air pollution in their own countries. The Sabah Tourism Board, making the most of the growing tourist influx from China, Japan and South Korea, is promoting clean environment and is encouraging the people to spend some time in village settings along the Crocker Range.

Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said that they are coordinating with the local communities in identified areas to serve as hosts and guides for outdoor activities such as whitewater rafting, camping, trekking and fishing.  The tourists will also have a chance to taste the local food and be immersed into the local culture and outdoor living.

Bangkuai also said that these activities are also a source of income for the villagers and a way for them to preserve their clean environment.  He added that they are working with local tourism committees to identify more areas for similar activities.  A community in Kampung Talungan, Kota Belud, has earned about RM100,000 from 30,000 tourists who visited their place.  There will be a Rural Tourism Road Show on August 4 to 6.

Registration of E-hailing Drivers Sought

West Coast Taxi Association chairman Wong Nyuk Min has called on the government to require e-hailing drivers to register their vehicles, undergo vehicle inspection and get the necessary insurance schemes prior to operate.  They should not be exempted from complying with the provisions of recent amendments of the Land Public Transport Bill 2017 and the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act Bill 2017.  He is specifically calling on the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia (MCMC) to block the smartphone applications of Uber and Grab until they have gone through the proper procedures.

Wong added that since the introduction of the e-hailing services, regular taxi drivers have experienced a big drop in their income by at least 50 per cent.  They also have to comply with uniform and seating capacity to avoid being fined.  Also, their vehicles should be at least 1,500cc.  On the other hand, he has seen e-hailing service providers squeeze five to six passengers in small vehicles with their luggage on their laps.

On the financial side, Wong said that the e-hailing services are the ones benefiting from the operations.  He gave an example of a trip to the airport worth RM10 where the driver will only get at most RM4.5 after deducting fuel consumption and payment for the e-haling company.

Program to Help Unemployed Youths

The Upko Penampang Information Bureau is planning to have a program that will assist unemployed youths to get a job.  Petrus Mojuntin, chief of the bureau, said that they will doing this in coordination with local NGOs.  The program will be entitled “Youth Employability and Connecting with Local Employers” and will run for four months with an initial target of about 200 youths.  These will include those who left school for various reasons and those who graduated from higher learning institutions.

Aside from a motivational talk, topics to be discussed in the program will touch on writing a resume, sending out job applications and conducting themselves during job interviews.