Category: Updates

KUCHING – A team of committed staff and individuals will continue to take care of more than 30 animal species at the Matang Wildlife Center during the current Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed due to the current COVID-19 outbreak.

With minimum manpower present, they will still continue to give attention to these animals particularly feeding, cleaning the enclosures, behavioral enrichment exercise and minor maintenance works at the center.

To know more, visit Sarawak Forestry Official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sarawakforestry/

BINTULU – For the third time, a local company, Adap 4orty Global presented personal protective equipment (PPEs) to the hospitals, polyclinics and quarantine centres in Bintulu, as well as the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in Kuching for the frontliners involved in fighting the COVID-19 outbreak.

Previously, the organisation donated about 11,000 hand gloves, 688 disposal suits, 200 pairs of shoes and 40 boxes of face masks.

Apart from that, they also presented electrical equipment such as fans, refrigerators, spraying machines and toiletries.

“This is one of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. We are always ready to help, and we recommend the hospitals to continue contacting us for futher assistance”, said Adap 4orty Global spokesperson Francis Ngu Hown Hua.

KOTA SAMARAHAN – On March 6, 2020, four medical institutions in Sarawak received health equipment from University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) to assist the front-liners who were battling against COVID-19.

The recipients were Sarawak General Hospital (SGH), Sarawak Heart Centre, Samarahan Health Clinic and Kuching Specialist Hospital (KPJ).

SGH received 23 litres of hand sanitiser, nine intubation boxes, and 100 face shields; Sarawak Heart Centre received one intubation box and 30 face shields; Samarahan Health Clinic received two sampling boxes, five litres of hand sanitiser and 50 face shields; while KPJ received two intubation boxes and 50 face shields.

Previously, UNIMAS had also delivered two self-manufactured intubation boxes and 100 custom-made face shields to SGH, hand sanitiser to their own Institute of Health and Community Medicine (IHCM), the UNIMAS Health Centre, residential colleges and the Kota Samarahan Royal Malaysia Police.

The intubation box was customised by Dr Charles Bong Hin Joo, a lecturer from the Faculty of Engineering UNIMASN and his team so that it would have sliding doors on both sides for easy tube insertions.

The hand sanitiser was developed by researchers from the Faculty of Resource Science and Technology led by Associate Prof Dr Samsur Mohamad and his team, while the face shields were jointly constructed by the Faculty of Cognitive Sciences and Human Development, Faculty of Built Environment, and Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology.

It is no doubt that millions of people across the globe are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, which has alarmed countries to take extensive measures to prevent further spread of the virus.

Here are some of the tips that you can help yourself and the community to prevent spreading and catching the coronavirus:

Most importantly, stay at home, avoid any social gatherings and keep your hygiene in check. By staying home today, we can travel tomorrow. And travelling tomorrow will support jobs, celebrate culture, promote international friendship and understanding which will lead to a country’s future recovery.

But for now, we must be patient and stand ready.

Up until March 31, Sarawak recorded a total of 156 confirmed cases and 8 deaths, which marks a total of 2,766 confirmed cases and 43 deaths in Malaysia. With the increasing number of cases each day, the Malaysian Government has declared a Restricted Movement Order (RMO) that urged the public to stay at home from March 18 to April 14, 2020.

Sarawak Tourism Board and their travel trade partners will be participating in ITB Berlin on March 4 to 8, 2020 at Messe Berlin, Germany.

The trade partners include Amogha Tours and Travel, Borneo Adventure, Paradesa Borneo (One Wayang Tours), Cove 55, Riverside Majestic Hotel Astana Wing and the Damai Beach Resort.

At the trade show, STB will launch four tourism products, highlighting Sarawak’s unique proposition of Culture, Adventure, Nature, Food and Festivals (CANFF). These include the Sibu Swan City Tour, the Trans-Borneo Cycling, the Damai Destination and the launch of the 23^rd edition of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2020, which will be happening in Kuching, Sarawak from 10 to 12 July, at the Sarawak Cultural Village.

Sarawak will participate with a bigger space under Tourism Malaysia at Booth 117, Hall 26A. This is to give prominence for the State’s respective branding and to continue its promotion of Visit Sarawak Campaign (VSC), as well as to tie with Visit Malaysia Year 2020.

Sarawak will also showcase few of its cultural heritage such as the Sarawak Tattoo (body art) and Sarawak Cultural dances, along with a Sape musician.

SIBU – Bukit Lima Nature Reserve (BLNR) will be gazetted as ‘Urban Green Area’, as part of Sarawak’s effort in conserving the State’s natural habitat, while developing Sibu town.

It was announced by the Chief Minister of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg at the launching of the World Wetlands Day 2020 on February 8.

“This place will not be used for development; it will be a green area in Sibu. Once we gazette, we will improve the infrastructure here, re-do the drainage around Bukit Lima area and it will become a tourism area”, he added.

Sarawak is one of the states in Malaysia with positive and innovative policies in development plans whereby the government has identified green areas for conservation.

The decision to gazette the area is also part of the effort to educate the people in Sibu, particularly the younger generation on sustainable development.

KUCHING – The First Phase of Visit Sarawak Campaign (VSC) had received a favourable increment in the number of visitor arrivals for the year 2019 in comparison to the year 2018.

It was announced by the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and Minister of Youth and Sports Sarawak, Datuk Haji Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah during Sarawak Tourism Board’s Annual Gala Dinner on January 19, 2020 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.

“An unaudited achievement of 5.22 percent increase in the number of arrivals had keep our hopes high and in fact our arrivals have indeed surpassed the UNWTO’s global growth predicted at 4% for 2019”, he said.

The Second Phase of VSC will focus more into digital promotion, which involves celebrities, influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) while maintaining the current conventional promotion.

“I laud the efforts of the Sarawak Tourism Federation and its umbrella bodies in working together with my Ministry and the Board and I hope that the collaboration and partnership will continue to bring the industry to a greater height’, he added.

KUCHING – On January 16, 2020, Sarawak Biodiversity Centre (SBC) organised a LitSara Traditional Wisdom Tour for Sarawak’s industry partners with the support of Sarawak Tourism Board (STB).

The LitSara Traditional Wisdom Tour is a one and a half hour tour where visitors will get a chance to discover enchanting fragrances from Sarawak’s indigenous herbs and plants, including their traditional knowledge, uses for food, medicine, health and many more.

The programme consists of a mindful walk through SBC’s Ethnobotanical Garden to get up close and personal to centuries old traditional knowledge from various communities in Sarawak. Visitors can also visit the SBC’s Gallery and indulge in a hands-on activity by making their own aromatherapy essential oil.

At the end of the tour, visitors will be able to experience a Traditional Steam Spa ‘Native Style’, infused with wild herbs and spices to soothe your tired feet and body. The tour finishes with a native story-telling and visitors will bring back their preferred “LitSara Gift Set”.

For more information, visit Sarawak Biodiversity Centre’s official website at https://www.sbc.org.my/public-education-internship/litsara-traditional-wisdom-tour

FINLAND – To kick start the new year, Sarawak Tourism Board will be participating in the MATKA Nordic Fair, happening on January 16 to 19 at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Centre, Finland.

This year’s participation is under Tourism Malaysia Pavilion Stand No. 7n101 in Halls 6 and 7. During the exhibition week on January 15 and 16, MATKA is open only for travel trade professionals and will open for the general public starting January 17.

On January 16, three Sarawak’s products will be launched; the Sibu and the Central Region, the Trans-Borneo Cycling and the launching of Rainforest World Music Festival 2020 that will be happening on July 10 to 12, 2020. These launches are expected to create an impact in terms of branding and innovation of Sarawak to tie up with Visit Sarawak Campaign 2020.

There will also be a Tourism Malaysia The Hague and Sarawak Tourism Seminar 2020 on January 21, organised jointly by Sarawak Tourism and Tourism Malaysia at the Corendon Village Hotel, Amsterdam for a session with the Dutch tour operators and media on the updates and present Sarawak’s new products.