http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/06/24/reconsider-appeal-for-extra-rural-flights-abang-johari/
Posted on June 24, 2012, Sunday
MIRI: MASwings Rural Air Service (RAS) should
reconsider the appeal for additional flights to rural areas, especially
during festive seasons.
Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari
Tun Abang Openg said sufficient flights were vital to complement
government efforts to promote tourism in rural areas like Bario
highlands, Ba Kelalan and Mulu.
“The state-level ministry will
collaborate with the Tourism Ministry at the federal level to discuss
and look into this matter,” he said when officiating at a food sales to
raise funds for Bario Nukenen Festival 2012 at Miri Civic Centre
yesterday.
At the moment, MASwings’ 19-seater Twin Otter DHC-6 aircraft has only one daily flight to Bario.
“We
hope flight regularity can be added, especially during the festive
season or other big events such as cultural festivals. We were made to
understand that a flight that carries 19 or less passengers at one time
is insufficient,” he said.
Abang Johari said his ministry was also
planning to hold discussions with Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) and
MASwings to come up with connecting flights to the three main
attractions in the northern region: Bario, Ba Kelalan and Mulu National
Park.
“We can come up with highland packages and through these,
tourists will not only get to visit Brunei, but experience the beauty
and hospitality of the three places,” he added.
According to him,
Mulu is well known for its unique caves and limestone while Bario had
breathtaking mountain views, and Ba Kelalan famous for its hotsprings in
Merarap.
Touching on the upcoming Bario Nukenen Festival 2012,
Abang Johari praised the effort of Rurum Kelabit Sarawak (RKS) for its
commitment in organising the annual festival for the seventh year.
He
urged Kelabit residents in Bario to continue producing a variety of
products from the highlands, and be more creative to add value to the
tourism sector.
“Bario folks are lucky as they have beautiful
culture and breathtaking environment. Most importantly, Bario folks must
make efforts to highlight and promote their uniqueness to the outside
world,” he said.
At the function, Abang Johari announced a
RM15,000 sponsorship for Bario Nukenen Festival 2012 while RM5,000 came
from the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB).
The fundraising sales yesterday targetted to raise RM40,000 from the festival to be held from July 26 to 28.
Also
present at yesterday’s event were Tourism Assistant Minister Datuk
Talip Zulpilip; Semariang assemblywoman Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman
Ghazali; Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau; Miri mayor Lawrence Lai;
Political Secretary to the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and
Water, Datuk Sebastian Ting; Miri Resident Antonio Kahti Galis; RKS
president Gerawat Gala and organising chairlady for the fundraising food
sales, Councillor Kijan Toynbee.
Showing posts with label MAS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAS. Show all posts
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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.
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.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Idris wants to stay neutral
http://www.theborneopost.com/?p=5159
Idris wants to stay neutral
by Samuel Aubrey.
Posted on January 17, 2010, Sunday
No politics for me, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who is fully committed to overseeing govt’s KPI initiatives and bringing positive changes for nation.
SWAPPING IDEAS: Idris (left) confers with some of the GTP Open Day participants.
KUCHING: Bario’s illustrious son Datuk Seri Idris Jala is placing work before politics.
He has no intention of contesting the next state or parliamentary election or joining any political party.
He said yesterday he wanted to remain totally committed to his task of overseeing the government’s key performance index (KPI) initiatives as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Idris is also chief executive officer of Performance Delivery and Management Unit (Pemandu) whose scope of duties include assessing the progress of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) aimed at enhancing effectiveness and accountability of the government.
He said he felt privileged to be a member of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s cabinet despite not belonging to any political party.
He pointed out that it was important for him to remain neutral, saying he is not a politician and his main task is to help move the business forward and make sure they (Pemandu) contribute to society.
“I am fully committed to contributing in whatever way I can and to seeing if we can succeed in making changes,” he told reporters on the sideline of the GTP Open Day at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).
Idris was responding to questions on whether there were plans for him to contest as a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the next election.
Political observers consider Idris as a potential candidate due to his impeccable track record in the corporate sector and his ethics and approach towards work.
Before his appointment to the Federal cabinet and as senator in September last year, he had been a successful corporate figure. As the CEO and managing director of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) from 2005 to 2009, he was credited with turning around the national carrier’s flagging financial fortunes.
The affable 52-year-old from the picturesque highlands in northern Sarawak also spent 23 years with Shell, holding the posts of managing director in Shell MDS (Malaysia) and vice- president of Shell Malaysia Gas & Power (Malaysia) between 2002 and 2005.
Idris said it was important for the government to function in accordance with the needs and aspirations of the people.
“The government is elected by the people. So it has to do what the people want. I think we are fortunate to have a Prime Minister who understands this,” he added.
Asked would Bario get more allocations now that he is a full Federal minister, he said the public should not think like this.
Projects, especially for infrastructure development, must be based on researched initiatives and projected objectives as well as the factors of needs and necessities, he explained.
“Take a look at Bario. It’s small and has very few people. I cannot develop it just because I am from there. However, I believe we will spend money on building a road from the airport to Bario Asal.”
He said more internal roads may be built but pointed out that to simply say a road would be laid from Marudi all the way to Bario might not be justifiable.
“How can you justify spending billions on a small number of people there,” he added.
Idris wants to stay neutral
by Samuel Aubrey.
Posted on January 17, 2010, Sunday
No politics for me, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department who is fully committed to overseeing govt’s KPI initiatives and bringing positive changes for nation.
SWAPPING IDEAS: Idris (left) confers with some of the GTP Open Day participants.
KUCHING: Bario’s illustrious son Datuk Seri Idris Jala is placing work before politics.
He has no intention of contesting the next state or parliamentary election or joining any political party.
He said yesterday he wanted to remain totally committed to his task of overseeing the government’s key performance index (KPI) initiatives as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Idris is also chief executive officer of Performance Delivery and Management Unit (Pemandu) whose scope of duties include assessing the progress of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) aimed at enhancing effectiveness and accountability of the government.
He said he felt privileged to be a member of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s cabinet despite not belonging to any political party.
He pointed out that it was important for him to remain neutral, saying he is not a politician and his main task is to help move the business forward and make sure they (Pemandu) contribute to society.
“I am fully committed to contributing in whatever way I can and to seeing if we can succeed in making changes,” he told reporters on the sideline of the GTP Open Day at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK).
Idris was responding to questions on whether there were plans for him to contest as a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the next election.
Political observers consider Idris as a potential candidate due to his impeccable track record in the corporate sector and his ethics and approach towards work.
Before his appointment to the Federal cabinet and as senator in September last year, he had been a successful corporate figure. As the CEO and managing director of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) from 2005 to 2009, he was credited with turning around the national carrier’s flagging financial fortunes.
The affable 52-year-old from the picturesque highlands in northern Sarawak also spent 23 years with Shell, holding the posts of managing director in Shell MDS (Malaysia) and vice- president of Shell Malaysia Gas & Power (Malaysia) between 2002 and 2005.
Idris said it was important for the government to function in accordance with the needs and aspirations of the people.
“The government is elected by the people. So it has to do what the people want. I think we are fortunate to have a Prime Minister who understands this,” he added.
Asked would Bario get more allocations now that he is a full Federal minister, he said the public should not think like this.
Projects, especially for infrastructure development, must be based on researched initiatives and projected objectives as well as the factors of needs and necessities, he explained.
“Take a look at Bario. It’s small and has very few people. I cannot develop it just because I am from there. However, I believe we will spend money on building a road from the airport to Bario Asal.”
He said more internal roads may be built but pointed out that to simply say a road would be laid from Marudi all the way to Bario might not be justifiable.
“How can you justify spending billions on a small number of people there,” he added.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)