JOINT COMMITTEE TO HELP SABAH TOURISM

Joint committee to help Sabah tourism

by Nancy Lai

KOTA KINABALU 19/03/2013: The State and Federal tourism ministries have agreed to set up a joint ‘Tourism Recovery Committee’ to look at ways to help Sabah tourism industry which has taken a toll because of the ongoing conflict in Lahad Datu.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said that the committee would look into getting people to travel to Sabah again as the intrusion in Lahad Datu had affected the state’s tourism sector.

Masidi said that the committee would start off by setting up a RM500,000 fund on a 50-50 basis between the state and federal governments.

“We are trying to put up aggressive advertisements to woo back visitors and the fund will be used to do all the public relations work as we need to ‘sell’ back Sabah to the world.

“I GUARANTEE THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM (WITH THE RUNWAY) AND THAT IT IS SAFE, ...,” - MASIDI

No cancellation of flights at KKIA

KOTA KINABALU 21/12/2012: There was no cancellation of flights at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here despite the allegation made by Global Upline Sdn Bhd (GUSB) that the KKIA runway was unsafe.

Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun told the press yesterday that all the airlines operating at KKIA have continued to express their confidence in the safety level of the airport by continuing with their operations here.

“I guarantee that there is no problem (with the runway) and that it is safe, just like other airports in Asia,”

CHINA TOURISTS PREFER SABAH, FLIGHTS UP

China tourists prefer Sabah, flights up

Kota Kinabalu: State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said starting from this month there will be increased flights between China and Kota Kinabalu to cater to the increasing number of tourists from China.

"As of July this year the number of Chinese tourists who came to Sabah is already equal to the entire number of tourists who came to Sabah last year.

So tourist-wise in terms of the Chinese market we are doing well.

"International tourists this year have also been better than last year so we can expect more European tourists as well.

PREPARE FOR LIBERALIZATION, TOURISM PLAYERS TOLD

Prepare for liberalization, tourism players told

KOTA KINABALU 12/11/2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has urged tourism players in Sabah to prepare for the eventual liberalization of the industry.

“The trend is towards liberalization, so my advice to tourism players in Sabah is to gear up for the eventual liberalization of every industry in the world. Malaysia is a member of the international committee and if you look at it, the trend is towards liberalization, that is eventually there will only be one system to operate in the world. So we need to prepare for it.

RED TAPE BLOW TO THREE POTENTIAL HERITAGE SITES

Red tape blow to three potential heritage sites

Kota Kinabalu 8/11/2012: Red tape is hampering efforts to get World Heritage Site status for Maliau Basin, Imbak Canyon and Danum Valley, said State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

"We are facing slight procedural challenges (in this effort) É please cut the red tape,"

TOURIST ARRIVALS FROM NORTH ASIA UP

Tourist arrivals from north Asia up

KOTA KINABALU 4/11/2012: The north Asia market, namely China and Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, remained as key market source for overall international arrivals into the state, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Speaking to reporters after launching the 15th Sabah Hospitality Fiesta 2012 at Karamunsing Complex yesterday, he said although the number of visitors to Sabah from January to September registered a marginal growth of only 0.1 per cent, international arrivals from the least expected countries, namely north Asia, had gone up.

“Compared to the same period in 2011, China and Hong Kong increased by 44.3 per cent from 103,340 to 149,104, while South Korea increased by 21.5 per cent from 48,439 to 58,871.

POVERTY DUE TO MINDSET OF BUMIS – MASIDI

Poverty due to mindset of Bumis – Masidi

KOTA KINABALU 3/11/2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has admitted he used to work as a labourer earning RM5 a day and he feels that poverty in Sabah is mainly due to the mindset of its people and primarily the Bumiputras.

“It is not just due to the lack of infrastructure, but due to the mindset of our people, our youngsters. People might get mad with me for making this statement but this is the reality. We need to encourage our people, coax them to work hard and change their mindset.

“We complain about Sabah not having enough work opportunity, yet there are 300,000 foreigners working in Sabah. It is simply not logical for us to say that there is a lack of jobs out there when 300,000 foreigners are working in Sabah. Yet our people remain unemployed,”

MALAYSIA AIRPORTS BERHAD CAUGHT WITH PANTS DOWN

MAB caught with pants down – Masidi

 KOTA KINABALU: Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) should learn a valuable lesson from the failure of runway lights at Terminal One of Kota Kinabalu Internatio 28/10/2012nal Airport (KKIA) on Thursday, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said the runway lighting debacle was something waiting to happen, but it should have been foreseen and avoided as it was the second runway lights failure in six months.

“Obviously, MAB was caught with its pants down. It did not have Plan B to deal with emergency situation of this kind as it did not have the foresight to reasonably assume that it could happen, even if it is only a remote possibility.

ONLY LOCAL TOURIST GUIDES FOR SABAH, SAYS MASIDI

Only local tourist guides for Sabah, says Masidi

KOTA KINABALU 22/10/2012: Sabah tourist guides must not allow their principles to be compromised, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said.

Have trust in your own abilities, love your profession, love yourself and be proud to be a tour guide as it is an honorable profession, he said at the Sabah Tourist Guides Association (STGA) Appreciation Night for its members and industry players here on Saturday night.

“You should never allow yourself to compromise your principles because what you do and what you don’t do really describes who you are in that profession,”

“REMEMBER, IT IS BETTER TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT AND NOT WHAT IS POPULAR,” - MASIDI

Masidi shares eight mistakes leaders should avoid

KOTA KINABALU 16/102012: Leaders should avoid committing eight mistakes in order to be successful, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun at the Leaders Conference organised by Yayasan Sabah yesterday.

Delivering a keynote address at the conference titled, ‘Leading from within – Leveraging lessons to meet future challenges’, Masidi said one of the mistakes that leaders should refrain from making is avoiding personal responsibility.

KUDOS TO MASIDI FOR ‘DOING THE RIGHT THING’

Kudos to Masidi for ‘doing the right thing’

KOTA KINABALU 27/09/2012: Sabah Democratic Action Party (DAP) has commended Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun for not implementing the Federal Tourism Ministry’s decision to allow Korean nationals to be given licenses to operate as tour guides in Sabah.

Hailing Masidi as the protector of the state’s tourism industry, Sabah DAP assistant secretary Junz Wong said he was extremely delighted that the new policy had not been enforced in order to allow for discussions and consultations with all the affected groups.

“This is what Sabahans want, to protect the state’s tourism industry and its nature and wildlife for local Sabahans,”

CHALLENGE TO PRODUCE MORE KOREAN SPEAKING GUIDES

Challenge to produce more Korean speaking guides

KOTA KINABALU September 26, 2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has posed a challenge to tourism players to produce more Korean speaking guides within a year.

Speaking after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with tourism stakeholders, including Sabah Tour Guides Association (STGA), yesterday, Masidi added that the call to engage Korean guides to guide their nationals while holidaying in Sabah will not be implemented as yet.

SYSTEM TO VERIFY SABAH WORKERS

System to verify Sabah workers

KOTA KINABALU 18 September 2012: A  ASSESSMENT mechanism should be  in place  to restrict "known troublemakers" in Sabah from seeking employment in Singapore, said state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

"For the good of Sabah's image and reputation, we need to put in place some form of fitness of character assessment.

"Any sovereign nation has the right to determine and manage their own rules of entry for foreigners to their country, especially those who are seeking employment. We have to respect them."

1SCHOOL 1CLINIC: SET TIME FRAME FOR IMPLEMENTATION – MASIDI

1School 1Clinic: Set time frame for implementation – Masidi

PENAMPANG September 14, 2012: A deadline for implementation must be set for all good proposals to become realities, and not empty promises to the people, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

Good policies must have a time frame for their implementation so that the people would not be left waiting, he said when commenting on the 1School 1Clinic proposal.

INCLUDE SABAH’S HISTORY, CULTURE IN NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM – MASIDI

Include Sabah’s history, culture in national education system – Masidi

KOTA KINABALU September 14, 2012: Effort should be taken to incorporate more of Sabah’s history and culture into the national education system, said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said this is to promote better understanding among other Malaysians and help address racial issues that stem from lack of understanding of Sabah’s culture among other Malaysians.

Masidi, who is also Sabah education exco, said the most recent controversy involving a blogger describing the Sumazau as a cult and worship dance was a saddening reminder of reality that many outside Sabah were completely ignorant about the State’s culture and tradition.

“Although we have been in the same country for almost 50 years, many people in other parts of this great nation don’t even understand our culture,”

MASIDI HOPES 2013 BUDGET FOCUSES ON TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURES

Masidi hopes 2013 Budget focuses on tourism infrastructures

KOTA KINABALU 13th September, 2012: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi hopes Budget 2013 to be presented on Sept 28, focuses on the development of tourism infrastructures in the country, especially in Sabah.

He said more allocations should be channelled to ensure that more attractive places in the state are promoted, as Sabah is known as the ‘natural paradise’ with several spots that are a draw for tourists.

“We hope for more funding for infrastructure because in Sabah the product is not an issue as we have a lot of tourism products, but access to the tourism products,”

CHINA’S BIGGEST AIRLINE TO FLY TO KK

China’s biggest airline to fly to KK

KOTA KINABALU August 28, 2012: China Southern Airline would be flying direct to Kota Kinabalu from Guangzhou twice weekly starting November 11, this year.

“What we are interested in is that it is the biggest domestic airline in China with the widest network. Guangzhou will be the hub for them to come to Kota Kinabalu,” Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said after launching the Rafflesia Spa Essentials here yesterday.

He also said his ministry was having serious talks with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to restart direct flights from the state capital to Tokyo, Japan.

MASIDI URGES PLANTATION OWNERS TO FULFILL PROMISES

Masidi urges plantation owners to fulfill promises

KOTA KINABALU August 21, 2012: Oil palm plantation owners in Kinabatangan have been urged to fulfill their promises to ensure that river pollution problems caused by factory discharge are solved immediately.

“They have given me their word and I expect them to fulfill their promises, not just to the government, but also to the people, fast,” said Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun yesterday.

TIDAK ADA JALAN PINTAS DALAM MENDAPATKAN TARAF KEWARGANEGARAAN DAN PERUNTUKAN UNDANG-UNDANG MESTI DIPATUHI SEPENUHNYA PADA SETIAP MASA. - MASIDI

Jangan perkecil RCI pendatang tanpa izin

KOTA KINABALU 10th August, 2012: Rakyat di negara ini digesa agar tidak memperkecilkan kredibiliti Suruhanjaya Siasatan Diraja (RCI) yang ditubuh bagi meneliti isu pendatang tanpa izin di Sabah.

Menteri Pelancongan, Kebudayaan dan Alam Sekitar Sabah Datuk Masidi Manjun berkata rakyat sepatutnya memberi peluang kepadaRCI melaksanakan tanggungjawabnya.

“...kalau tidak, permintaan kita untuk RCI ini jadi usaha yang sia-sia,”

TOURIST ARRIVALS IN SABAH HAVE INCREASED, SAYS MASIDI

Tourist arrivals in Sabah have increased, says Masidi

KOTA KINABALU 17th July, 2012: Tourist arrivals in Sabah for the first five months this year went up 3.7 per cent in comparison to the same period last year.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun, said during the same period this year, a total of 1,134,149 visitors came to Sabah, generating an estimated revenue of RM2.02 billion. Last year 1,093,578 arrived between January and May.

The most significant increase was tourists from China, including Hong Kong and Macau, that numbered at 71,152 or 41.4 per cent more than last year.