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Aussie students journey through <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo Post Online Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah

Aussie students journey through <b>Sabah</b> - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 03 May 2014 07:28 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Seventeen Tourism and Hospitality students from Edith Cowan University (ECU) Australia embarked on a ten-day journey through the land of Sabah to acquire knowledge and experience on ecotourism from April 17 to 27.

The visit was led by Professor Ross Dowling, the Foundation Professor of Tourism in the School of Business, Faculty of Business and Law of ECU.

Managing director of Borneo Eco Tours (BET) and Sukau Rainforest Lodge (SRL), Albert Teo who is also a Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer of ECU, personally designed and packaged the study tour together with Professor Ross.

The aim of the tour was for the students to experience tourism in general and ecotourism incorporating community projects in particular.

Teo accompanied the whole trip for intimate impartation of knowledge and experience in operating the ecotourism business.

The trip began with an overnight stay in Kota Kinabalu city, where the group had the opportunity to explore the city on an afternoon tour. Excitement was further enhanced on the second day as the group set on the journey to northern Sabah, Kudat for cultural exchange activities and community contribution to a student hostel in Sikuati, Kudat – Asrama Bantaran Joy Centre (ABJC).

The group handed over English books to ABJC Students as an encouragement to learn English.

They also donated 20 bunk beds worth RM6,000 to improve the living conditions of students at ABJC. The bunk beds' supplier, Chung of Temalang Enterprise, also contributed six mattresses to ABJC.

Afterwards the group visited the Kimihang Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO) Processing Centre which is part of a community project through social entrepreneurship by BEST Society. There, the students got to learn about the extraction process involved in producing virgin coconut oil through demonstration by Ronnie Onginjan, the Kimihang VCO entrepreneur.

The group supported the project by purchasing the virgin coconut oil products.

They enjoyed the evening with a barbecue dinner, a Rungus cultural performance, and the overnight stay at a traditional longhouse on Tindakon Dazang Beach.

This is a tourism project developed by a local entrepreneur Samuil at Terongkongan Village, Kudat with technical advice from BEST Society.

In Kudat, the ECU group learnt about the local community, cultural differences and challenges involved in the process of changing mindset in order to alleviate poverty.

The next stop on the ECU group's journey was Kundasang. A stopover at Nabalu Market was followed by an emotional visit to the Kundasang War Memorial Park as the group learnt about the history of Prisoners of War (POW) Death Marches. That night, the group stayed in the Sabah Tea Garden and visited the Quailey's Hill Memorial.

The ECU group experienced a change of landscapes from white sandy beaches in Kudat to the majestic Mount Kinabalu in Ranau all the way overland to eastern Sabah, Sandakan.

Finally, they reached the banks of the Kinabatangan River which they crossed in order to finally arrive at the award winning ecolodge, Sukau Rainforest Lodge (SRL) which is situated on the lower Kinabatangan River nearby Sukau Village.

During the four-night stay in SRL, the group participated in the Kinabatangan Wildlife Corridor Rehabilitation Program (KWICORP), tree planting project which is an ongoing project by BEST Society, BET and SRL to regenerate riverine forest corridor along the lower Kinabatangan River.

Aside from the tree planting project, the group donated English books to Sukau Primary School students and painted the community hall in Sukau Village, spending a total of RM2,708 on paints and tools.

In addition to environmental and community projects, Teo conducted a presentation and tour around SRL to provide the students with practical insights on building, managing and operating an ecotourism company and ecolodge with community involvement.

The ECU group had a great wildlife viewing experience on several river cruises; they sighted endangered species including the Orang-Utan, Proboscis Monkeys, Macaques, various species of birds and even Borneo Pygmy Elephants.

The study tour ended with a three-night stay in Sandakan. The group joined president of the Sandakan Municipal Council, Datuk James Wong, as well as local and international dignitaries for a dinner preceding ANZAC Day hosted by the Sabah Tourism Board.

During the following days, the ECU Group attended the ANZAC Day's Dawn Service at Sandakan War Memorial Park and visited the Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey Sanctuary, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) and Rainforest Discovery Centre.

The CEO and founder of BSBCC, Wong Siew Te, gave a talk about Bornean Sun Bears and the aim of BSBCC during their visit. The ECU group then presented a cheque for a one-year adoption of a Bornean Sun Bear at RM1,200 to Wong.

Professor Ross regarded the study tour as a good learning exposure on the ground for the students as they got a taste of local cultures and participated in community projects personally, working together with local communities, especially in Sukau Village.

The study tour was further enhanced by the personal involvement of Teo.

The 17 ECU students summarized the study tour as an eye-opener and an once-in-a- lifetime experience. They were impressed by Sabah's nature and inspired by examples of success such as Ronnie from the Kimihang VCO Processing Centre.

Many of them vowed to definitely visit Sabah again and decided to attend the 8th Asia Pacific Eco-Tourism Conference 2014 organised by Teo on behalf of MATTA.

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Hybrid corn can earn <b>Sabah</b> RM8.7 million annually – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 05 May 2014 11:31 AM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah can potentially earn RM8.7 million annually from cultivating hybrid corn, said the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Business Council chairman, Datuk Roselan Johar Mohamed.

He said based on commercial planting over 404.68 hectares of land, the net profit derivable from the crop was about RM2.9 million per harvest.

"The hybrid corn needs 92 days before harvesting and this makes three harvests per year possible, meaning the cash-flow would be better and more meaningful to farmers.

"This is really good news for our farmers who may have idle land for further cultivation and respectively, increase household income," he told Bernama recently.

Roselan said the introduction of hybrid corn was raised during the recent BIMP-EAGA meetings at Manado (Indonesia) and Davao (the Philippines) which highlighted the innovative introduction of hybrid corn, a non-genetically modified organism (GMO) type.

He said through the Sabah Bumiputera Chamber of Commerce (SBCC), a lead player in the various BIMP-EAGA meetings, the proponents of the hybrid corn made a power-point presentation to the Agriculture Research Centre in Tuaran recently and attended by more than 60 agricultural experts.

He noted hybrid corn cultivation was the next best solution to contract farming earlier practised in Sabah, which somehow experienced an uneventful death.

Currently, the district of Tuaran has picked up producing sweet corn owing to the successful purchase by a franchise owner.

"Perhaps, now is the best time to start all over again, simply because the harvesting time has been shortened and the corn price has gone up.

"Fertiliser requirement is also made easy by the introduction of a plant nutrient, Biojadi, in the form of foliar spray," Roselan said.

He also said the hybrid field-corn had larger and heavier grains, which were ideal as main ingredients for use in animal feed-mill plants.

"The successful growth of field corn in quantum will necessitate the setting up of a animal feed-mill plant in Sabah, hopefully in the near future.

"If all works out well, Sabah can export animal feed to Peninsular Malaysia," he added.

Roselan said Malaysia should not lose out on the importance of agricultural production that can keep pace with the population increase.

Referring to the Philippines' experience, he said the country was once an importer of maize and over a short span of time, had produced enough arable land for maize cultivation to overcome the problem. — Bernama

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31 <b>Sabah</b>, Sarawak SMEs receive award - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 03 May 2014 07:21 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: SME Magazine has awarded the "Fast Moving Companies" recognition to 31 companies from Sabah and Sarawak in the first edition of the SME 100 Award for East Malaysia.

The Fast Moving Companies Award recognises the outstanding achievement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) using a stringent judging and evaluation process to assess growth and resilience.

The award, which was only been held for companies in Peninsular Malaysia previously, received overwhelming response from East Malaysian companies with a record number of 212 nominations.

A total of 500 SMEs were initially surveyed for the award between December last year and May this year and the winners had been selected among the nominated companies.

Judging was done based on quantitative criteria, such as revenue growth and profit, and qualitative criteria such as business outlook, investment in training, and research and development efforts.

The successful companies received their awards in a ceremony graced by Special Tasks Minister Datuk Teo Chee Kang on Friday evening.

Among the award recipients were 1 Tour & Adventure, Aalon Trading (Sabah), Airworld Travel & Tours, Alex Comm and Allunique (EM), Biotech Alliance International, BW Yee Seng (Sabah) and C & F Enterprise, DTS Hygiene and Epsilon Synergy.

Other winners include Green Summit Development, Hap Seng Properties Development, Harum Bidang, Hycrete Mecure and Infinity Management Consultant, Instarmac Development, IQuest Systems, Kina Roof Industries, Kinabalu Food Industries and Mega United Resources.

Also on the list were Misarman Enterprise, Pembinaan D.G.E, Perfect Vacation, Rich Inspire, Sabah Air Aviation, SM Health Care, Temasek Regal Capital, Timplas Industries (M), Ulink Ascot, Wilti-Jos Music Production and WTW Real Estate.

SME Magazine is Malaysia's best-selling business magazine with more than 150,000 readers per month.

It is also claimed to be the most widely circulated business publication across ASEAN, with local English editions available in Singapore and Brunei, Bahasa Indonesia edition in Indonesia, and content and distribution partnership in Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines.

Its SME 100 Award is widely recognised as the most prestigious award for SMEs which is held annually in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and now Kota Kinabalu.

G&A Corporate Services and Small and Medium Enterprise Association of Malaysia (SAMENTA) co-organised the award with SME Magazine, while Cheng & Co served as the official auditor, and Credit Bureau Malaysia as the official credit bureau.

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How hitz <b>Sabah</b> announcer Cassie expresses herself – BorneoPost <b>...</b>

Posted: 04 May 2014 04:02 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: hitz Sabah Drive-Thru announcer Cassie has many ways to express herself — on air, meet people and through music, fashion and art.

When Cassie moved back to Kota Kinabalu four years ago, she became friend with a local artist named Lybby Iliyas who taught her a lot about the art scene in Sabah.

"This is when my stencil love affair started … A stencil is a thin sheet of card, plastic, or metal with a pattern or letters cut out of it, used to produce the cut design on the surface below by the application of ink or paint through the holes.

"The first stencil I ever cut was a proboscis monkey. It took me two full days to finish cutting the stencil and it turned out so well I became obsessed! Thanks to Lybby, she helped me sharpen my stencil skills and we started spray painting! I did a piece at The Jungle Skatepark Likas, and then we became more ambitious and did life size stencils at Cuts Gallery, Centre Point and my office at Astro Radio!" she said.

Cassie added she could not stress how important it is for her to express herself by using words, fashion, art, music, photography or food.

"Be animated! The last thing you want to be is an implosive person … Allow yourself to let off some steam!" she said.

Cassie hosts the hitz Sabah Drive Thru from 4pm to 8pm every weekday and the one thing you would notice most about her is her deep and husky voice.

Besides being a radio personality, Cassie is also an emcee and aspiring DJ. She made her debut at the Borneo Dance Music Festival on December 28, 2013.

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<b>Sabah</b> SMEs grow by 65% in five years - The Borneo Post Online

Posted: 03 May 2014 07:17 PM PDT

KOTA KINABALU: The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector in Sabah has grown by 65 per cent in the past five years with 40,884 such establishments currently operating in the state.

Minister of Special Tasks in the Chief Minister's Department Datuk Teo Chee Kang said in terms of numbers, Sabah ranked sixth among all the 13 states in the country.

"The SMEs in the state are also more diversified covering many sectors including the manufacturing, agriculture, services, mining and quarrying and, construction sectors," he said at SME 100 Awards 2014 presentation on Friday night.

Teo said both the state and federal governments recognized the huge contributions of SMEs in driving the economy as it represents about 98.5 per cent of total businesses in Malaysia and accounted for 32 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP).

The SMEs also provide 60 per cent of employment and one fifth or 19 per cent of the total export in Malaysia, he added.

In helping the SMEs, he said the government would continue to focus on capacity building, financial assistance, market development, facilitation of export and brand development, skill and entrepreneurial training, as well as, provide necessary infrastructure, institutional and regulatory support for business to flourish.

"At the same time, the government is also determined to ensure that our SMEs remain competitive globally and resilient to external shocks and uncertainties," he added.

He stressed that the government understood and has taken heed of the challenges faced by SMEs, particularly in six crucial aspects, namely innovation and technology development; human capital development; access to financing; market access; legal and regulatory environment; and infrastructure.

Teo said the Malaysia Global Innovation and Creative Centre (MaGIC) launched in Cyberjaya jointly by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and United States President Barack Obama last week, was a one stop centre to empower entrepreneurs.

The state government would continue to work closely with the Federal government and its agencies to enable SMEs to take advantage of all the numerous assistance and incentives extended by the government.

"At the same time, I strongly urge our SMEs to be proactive and more aggressive in developing and expanding their business domestically and internationally.

"As all of you are well aware, most of the successful multinational companies today started off as SMEs," he said.

He also advised SMEs to prepare for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which be implemented on April 1, 2015.

Teo added that the introduction of the GST was important to have a clear understanding of the general mechanism of the new system so that necessary adjustments can made.

At the event, 31 SMEs from Sabah and Sarawak were announced winners of the annual award, organised by SME Magazine.

Among the award recipients were Airworld Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd, Mega United Resources Sdn Bhd, Pembinaan D.G.E Sdn Bhd, SM Health Care Sdn Bhd, Timplas Industries (M) Sdn Bhd and Ulink Ascot Sdn Bhd.

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