MASwings to adopt ‘unique’ water village

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/08/18/maswings-to-adopt-unique-water-village-latest/

by Sandra Sokial. Posted on August 18, 2011, Thursday

KOTA KINABALU: MASwings, which sees the potential of Kampung Tanjung Aru Baru as a tourist destination, has expressed interest to adopt the village.

Describing the water village as unique, MASwings managing director Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang said they have agreed in principal to adopt the village in response to the call yesterday by its Village Security and Development Committee chairman Matsah Saad.

“I do believe that the village has potential to be developed into a tourist destination. It is a water village and houses are built on stilts above the sea.

“It is very unique and is not available in many places,” Mohd Nawawi told reporters after presenting Hari Raya goodies to 100 underprivileged people from the village and Kampung Tanjung Aru Lama.

He said the adoption programme may be extended to two schools in Kundasang and Kudat, and currently talks are ongoing to discuss details of the programme which is expected to take off by this year end or early next year.

“This is part and parcel of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, dubbed the ‘Wings of Love’ which is aimed at reaching out to those in need, and focusing on three main fields, namely community service, education and environment,” said Mohd Nawawi.

He said similar project is carried out in Sarawak where MASwings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, has adopted two schools, one in Bekalalan and the other in Bario.

Touching on yesterday’s event, he said the two villages were selected due to its proximity to Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

In his speech earlier, Mohd Nawawi said he is willing to act as the middle person to bring the villagers’ grouses and concerns to the highest authority.

“We understand there are a lot of expectations from the people when we adopt a village, but it is part of our CSR. A lot of funds are needed to reconstruct a village, so being a corporate company, we can only help to forward what they need to the higher authorities,” he said.