KK & SABAH News Flash

Sabah Ready for Malaysia Day 2017

Sabah will be hosting the Malaysia Day celebrations this year and activities will start on September 15, Friday.  Workers are giving the finishing touches at the Likas Sports Complex where thousands of visitors are expected to arrive.  There are booths and canopies as well as a stage for all the events which will culminate on September 16. For their preparation, the performers are having full rehearsals every evening for two nights now.

Malaysia Day is celebrated every year as a reminder of the formation of the Federation of Malaysia on September 16, 1963.  There will be product exhibitions, concerts featuring local artists and booths for government and non-governmental organizations and agencies.

Malaysia Day organizing committee deputy secretary Mariam Omar Matusin, who is also the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment deputy permanent secretary, said that the event will start as scheduled. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will be officiating the event on September 16.

Tawau, Semporna Eyed as Seafood Hub

Parti Warisan Sabah is eyeing Semporna as a tourism paradise with Tawau as a seafood hub in the east coast area.  The party’s Vice President, Junz Wong, said that it is the idea of its President Datuk Shafie Apdal to develop the east coast by maximizing its potential and utilizing its natural resources.

There are abundant seafood products in these areas and it will not be necessary for the fishermen and fish farmers to go to Kota Kinabalu to deliver their catch.  A hub for processing and export of seafood products will be put up for quality control prior to exportation.  This will be a feasible project since Tawau is strategically located near Kalimantan and the Celebes Sea.

Increase in Tourist Arrivals in Sabah This Year

Tourist arrivals in the state in increased by 10% during the first seven months of the year, as compared to the same period last year.  Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun said that the biggest increase came from South Korea (at 50.8 %) with an unexpected increase from those coming from Singapore (around 8%).

Masidi further said that there is a likelihood for this year’s tourism receipts to surpass the previous years’ receipts and the year 2017 might be the best year ever for the tourism industry.

China-Malaysia Cooperation to Continue

The People’s Republic of China has appointed a new Consul-General to Sabah.  Liang Caide was greeted at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport Wednesday evening by government officials and private individuals with State Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming and Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC) President Tan Sri Andrew Liew leading the group.

During the meeting with the press upon arrival, he said that the cooperation between the two countries will continue.  They have been good neighbors to each other and the Sabah-Labuan area is an important place in the Maritime Silk Road.  He further added that he is looking forward to an interesting stint at the state for he had heard nice things about the place and its people.

Liang replaced Chen Peijie who was the first Consul General to Sabah since the putting up of a Chinese consulate in Sabah last January 20, 2015, until her new assignment in Beijing last July 9, 2017.