Sabah News Flash

Batik Festival 2016

The Batik Festival 2016 opened last weekend and will run until November 13.  Chief Minister Satuk Seri Musa Aman was at the opening of the Viva Batik Festival 2016 at the Oceanus Waterfront Mall, and he said that Sabah batik has its own unique qualities as compared to other batik products and this should be showcased by the Sabahans for its originality, adding that the festival is the best platform in which the unique products can be promoted.  The State Government recognizes this and is encouraging the business community to support the thriving batik business.

According to Musa, the batik industry is contributory to the economy by its income-generating activities and offering employment to the people involved in its production.  Also, those in the transportation and logistics business can take advantage of the needs of the industry.

The festival is organized by the Waterfrom Urban Development Sdn Bhd in coordination with Yayasan Budi Penyayang Malaysia (Penyayayang).  It has about 20 participants representing entrepreneurs and designers and visitors can watch the daily fashion shows every afternoon with 2 additional shows on weekends.  They can also watch designer Masrina Abdullah demonstrate her batik-making skills every day from 12noon to 6pm.

Expansion of Sabah Total Protected Area

The International Conference on Heart of Borneo opened at Kota Kinabalu Tuesday and Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman announced that Sabah has pledged its expansion of the total protected area (TPA) to 30 per cent of its land mass in the next decade.  This includes proper management of the area with enhancement of resources and capacity to better protect the environment, especially the wildlife species that consider the area as their habitat.  Musa added that this expansion is implemented as complementary to the ongoing rationalization of land use to further enhance the socio-economic well-being of the surrounding communities.

Scientific Writing Workshop at UMS

The University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) publishing unit is planning to conduct a workshop on scientific writing in collaboration with the UMS Library.  It will be a one-day workshop that aims to improve the skills of lecturers and students who may be planning to have their researches published.  Two lecturers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia are expected to share their knowledge and experiences.

Isuzu mu-X “Vehicle of the Year” in Borneo Safari

The Borneo Safari International Off-Road Challenge gave the “Vehicle of the Year” award to Isuzu’s mu-X during the closing ceremony Sunday evening.  The mu-X is a seven-seater sports utility vehicle (SUV) that made it through the eight-day challenges in the toughest conditions in Sabah jungles.

The mu-X deserves the award because neither did it require any changes in spare parts nor repairs done during the competition, said Borneo Safari Organizing Committee Chairman Faez Nordin.  What made the competition more challenging was the daily rains that caused the two-day delay through slippery and muddy roads and steep slopes testing the ultimate driver.

The just-awarded vehicle boasts of modifications on the exterior while its engine remained stock standard, a 2.5 litre VGS turbo intercooler diesel engine with a 5-speed automatic transmission with sequential shift.  Isuzu Malaysia, a proud sponsor of the Borneo Safari for ten years now, recognizes the positive impacts of its relationship with Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association as well as having a venue for testing its products.

There are more than 900 participants in this year’s 500km event representing Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Portugal and China.  By completing 18 check points, Liew Fui Kong and Agustinus Ara Kopong from Tenom 4X4 club are the winners, the competition’s 26^th edition.