Selasa, September 18, 2012

PRINCESS DIANA HAD WANTED TO VISIT DANUM VALLEY – YAYASAN SABAH

Princess Diana had wanted to visit Danum Valley – Yayasan Sabah

LAHAD DATU September 17, 2012: Fifteen years ago, there was another British Royal who had intended to visit Danum Valley in Lahad Datu, Malaysia’s well-reserved rainforest.

Arrangements were made to accommodate the royal visit, and the date was tentatively set.

Scores of discussions were organised to ensure everything was fit for a princess.

Yayasan Sabah Conservation and Environmental Management Division group manager Dr Waidi Sinun said they made sure everything was in order, especially when the guest was one of the world’s most influential women, Princess of Wales, Diana.

“Of course we were all very excited,” he said when met at the Danum Valley Field Centre over the weekend, adding: “It was indeed an honour to have such influential person having interest in our work and the area itself.”

But all hopes were crushed when Princess Diana was tragically killed in a car accident on August 31, 1997, six months before she was scheduled to visit Danum Valley.

She and companion, Dodi Fayed, succumbed to serious injuries after the Mercedes-Benz they were traveling in hit the road tunnel in Paris to elude paparazzis.

The car driver, Henri Paul, was also killed in the accident, while the couple’s bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, survived the crash.

But Danum Valley had ‘its second chance’ to play host to British royals.

Fast-forward just over a decade later, they again received a call that the British royal couples, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and wife Catherine Middleton, or fondly known as Kate, had picked Danum Valley one of the top three rainforest research centres in the world to end their visit to Malaysia. William is Diana’s eldest son.

Their visit to the forest was planned because of William’s longstanding interest in conservation, which also offered the royal couple an opportunity to experience the ecological wealth of Sabah’s forests and the importance of supporting the efforts of the scientists working to understand and conserve them.

Whether the visit was part of William’s way of fulfilling his mother’s wish is anyone’s guess, but according to Waidi, “If it was me, I would do it.”

Waidi, who had a half-an-hour chat with Britain’s future king, however disclosed that William did say that his father, Prince Charles, has a soft spot for the rainforest.

“To have Princess Diana’s son at Danum Valley is a great honour. It is a recognition to the conservation work that Yayasan Sabah has done, jointly with the Royal Society’s South East Asia Rainforest Research Programme (SEARRP). It has elevated Danum Valley to a higher level,” he said.

William became a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society during its 350th anniversary celebrations in 2010.

Danum Valley is older than the Amazon rainforest, which is about 60 million years old, is a world class ecosystem, home to about 125 species of mammals, over 300 birds, 72 reptiles and 56 amphibians.

Located in the southeastern part of Sabah, Danum Valley Conservation Area (DVCA), about 82 kilometres from Lahad Datu town, covers an area of 43,800 hectares, and is one of the last strongholds of undisturbed lowland dipterocarp forest.

Most of the researches are collaborative efforts between Malaysian and scientists from overseas and mostly based on long-term research programmes initiated in 1984 between Danum Valley Management Committee and The Royal Society’s SEARRP, where these studies have contributed to the understanding of tropical forests.

William and Kate had an enjoyable three-hour tour at DVCA, trekking into the rainforest jungle, met up with 25 researchers and Oxford University undergraduates, and were lifted up 50 metres above the ground to listen to Semporna-born researcher, Dr Kalsum Yusah’s findings on ants.

Malaysia is the royal couple’s second destination after Singapore on their nine-day tour of the Far East as representatives of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in conjunction with the celebration to mark the 60-year reign of the Queen of England.

The couple left for Solomon Islands yesterday where they were greeted by warriors in traditional dress.

On Tuesday, they will arrive in the tiny South Pacific island of Tuvalu where they will be carried from their aircraft in the island’s traditional reception for visiting dignitaries.

by Sandra Sokial

25 ulasan:

  1. Kunjungan yang menarik bagi pasangan diraja ini di Sabah. Harap mereka tidak akan jemu lagi untuk datang melihat keindahan Sabah ini.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Mungkin di masa akan datang mereka akan berkunjung semula ke Sabah.

      Padam
    2. harap mereka akan datang berkunjung lagi ke Sabah.

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    3. Hearing that Princess Diana has been longing to go here, it really melt my heart.

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    4. Janji Diana dapat ditunaikan oleh menantunya.

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    5. Hope the tour can give them a good remembrance.

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  2. Sabah ini memang terkenal dengan tarikkan keindahan alam semula jadi untuk para pelancong dari Luar Negara.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Sabah mmg kaya dgn alam semulajadinya yang indah.

      Padam
    2. Maka dengan itu la banyak pihak yang cemburu dengan apa yang kita ada, justeru membuat fitnah.

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    3. Never mine, now AirAsia is giving its name on Musa.

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    4. Sabah seakan lebih berkembang selepas ini.

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  3. Prince William sudah menunaikan hajat Princess Diana untuk berkunjung ke Danum Valley.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. lawatan mereka akan mempromosikan lagi Lembah Danum.

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  4. Ini bermakna Sabah mempunyai tempat di mata dunia dari segi pemuliharaan alam sekitar.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Hubungan baik ini akan membawa pelabur dari England.

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  5. Semoga Sabah akan menjadi tumpuan pelancongan.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Selepas pasangan Diraja tu melawat Sabah pasti akan ramai pelancong asing mengenali Sabah

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  6. Hope these royal couple can bring more investment to Sabah..

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  7. Isu rasuah yang Musa terlibat dalam siasatan tidak menjejas lawatan ini?

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  8. sekurang2nya niat Puteri Diana tercapai juga melalui anaknya Prince William..

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    Balasan
    1. Lawatan Prince William dan isterinya sedikit sebanyak memberi kesan positif kepada industri pelancongan Sabah

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  9. syabas kepada kerajaan negeri Sabah kerana terus berjaya menarik minat keluarga diraja untuk melawat hutan hujan di negeri ini..

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Lawatan pasangan Diraja tu akan lebih menarik ramai pelancong asing ke Sabah

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  10. Prince William and Catherine will fly via helicopter to Danum Valley, a primary rainforest conservation area located 70km from Lahad Datu, where they will spend the day briefed by researchers and explore the 438 sq km area.

    BalasPadam
    Balasan
    1. Malaysia is the royal couple's second destination after Singapore, en route a nine-day tour of the Far East, as representatives of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in conjunction with the celebration to mark the 60-year reign of the Queen.

      Padam