Sabah & KK News

Estimated RM7.2 Billion Revenues from Sabah Tourism Sector

Tourism, Environment and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun announced that tourist arrivals in Sabah has increased by a rate of about 10.8 per cent, or a total number of about 1.8 million tourists, as of June this year.  This is a clear indication that the tourism industry is doing well in promoting Sabah Tourism as an desirable tourist destination throughout Asia..

However, he also mentioned that this increasing trend may be negatively affected by the lack of hotels.  He called on investors and hotel operators in Sabah to construct more hotels so as to accommodate the tourist influx.  The number of international flights at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is nearly 500 international and domestic flights and from this, around 80 flights are from China that increases during summer.  He also pointed out that the tourism sector is fully controlled by locals where almost 95 per cent of the workers are from the locality.

Masidi was at the opening ceremony of the 27^th anniversary of Centre Point Sabah Saturday.

Joint Air Patrols Over Sulu Sea

Joint air patrols over the Sulu Sea are being planned by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines as a trilateral cooperation to fight off the threat of Daesh or Islamic State (IS).  This was announced by Defense Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein after the “Daulat February 2013 Battle Honours” ceremony at Padang Merdeka at Kota Kinabalu Friday.  There is the presence of Daesh in the region and this problem cannot be addressed by Malaysia alone.  It needs that cooperation of its neighbors (Indonesia and the Philippines) for monitoring of the Sulu Sea.

The start of the air patrols has not been finalized yet because the Philippines is still fighting off rebels in Marawi City which had been going on for almost three months already.  Also, Hishamuddin said that they are looking at getting additional assets for this planned activity, specifically the patrol surveillance aircraft, and other assets from Japan.

Hishamuddin also emphasized the importance of public awareness through information dissemination of the threats of Daesh.  If something bad happens, it will be the innocent people that will suffer the  most.

Honors Awarded to ‘Ops Daulat’ Heroes

A ceremony was held Friday night to honor the officers and personnel of the security forces who fought the attacks of Philippine terrorists in Lahad Datu in February 2013 where 10 security personnel lost their lives.  Defense Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein was at the opening ceremony of the Daulat Feb 2013 Battle Honors at Padang Merdeka, Kota Kinabalu, and he said that this ceremony is not just honoring the heroes but also a reminder to the people that the country’s security and defense should not be taken lightly.  He also added that it is always difficult for security forces to defend the country.

At the ceremony, around 2,000 officers and personnel from the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) joined the ‘Dalulat Feb 2013’ Battle Honors Parade.  There were 61 officers and personnel directly involved in the ‘Ops Daulat’ who were presented with the ‘Pingat Kedaulatan Negara (PKN)’.