State govt wants MAS to maintain Sarawak, <b>Sabah's</b> interest <b>...</b> Berita Sabah - News 2 Sabah |
| State govt wants MAS to maintain Sarawak, <b>Sabah's</b> interest <b>...</b> Posted: 18 Jun 2014 12:57 PM PDT MIRI: The state government wants the troubled Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to maintain the interest of Sarawak and Sabah even if it has to let go certain subsidiaries and shrink operation to reduce cost. Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state government was ready to collaborate with its Sabah counterpart to turn MASWings into a regional airlines should MAS take out the airline out of its operation as part of a turnaround programme. "The state government's decision is very clear and if MAS wants to shrink operation, it must not jeopardize the interest of Sarawak and Sabah. "If MASWing could be made a regional airline just like SilkAir is to Singapore Airlines, then let Sarawak and Sabah focus on MASWings to establish themselves in the Asia Pacific as well as the other regional destinations," he told reporters here yesterday after witnessing the signing of a hotel management agreement between Unique Harvest Sdn Bhd and Accors Group for operation and management of Pullman Miri Waterfront Hotel and Resort. He added that there were great potentials in making MASWings as the regional airlines as both Sarawak and Sabah had great destinations and tourism products known both locally and internationally. "Besides, MASWings has its own fleet of aircraft and what is needed for further expansion is regional jets to connect the important hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok. "Through Hong Kong one can get the European and American passengers, and Hong Kong to Miri/KK for instance is 3 1/2 hour flight. What we need is aircraft that has 3 to 5-hour endurance." Meanwhile, Khazanah Nasional Bhd (Khazanah Nasional) managing director Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar recently said they would come up with a plan to restructure the troubled MAS within a year. He said all options were being considered at the moment, reflecting the seriousness of the current situation and the importance of MAS to the country. "There is also a possibility of MAS downsizing its flights in the near term until a restructuring plan is formulated, given that MAS has a reasonable leeway in making choices over its network plan," he said.   |
| Yachting challenge spooked by abductions in <b>Sabah</b> – BorneoPost <b>...</b> Posted: 14 Jun 2014 11:41 AM PDT MIRI: The recent highly-publicised abductions off the coasts of Sabah are affecting the 11th Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC) somewhat. For instance, as at 2pm yesterday, the race secretariat registered only 30 boats for the Miri-Labuan-Kota Kinabalu Challenge even though it had received 44 online registrations. "Due to unknown reasons, some (of those who registered online) decided not to participate in this year's edition," said the Miri Working Committee chairman Troy Yaw yesterday. He believed some boat owners were scared of sailing in this region, particularly in Sabah waters, following the abductions. "Due to these high-profile abduction case, sailors are staying away from sailing along Sabah waters as they considered it unsafe. "They are not covered by insurance should something happened to them or their boats." In addition, Yaw said some of the interested participants were probably taking part in other races and events in Thailand and the Philippines. "There are quite a number of events around this region. In Thailand alone, there are around four boating events. There are similar events in the Philippines and Hong Kong." On a related matter, Yaw said his committee was working together with navy and maritime authorities to ensure no untoward incidents happened to the participants and officials during the event. Meanwhile, joint main organising committee co-chairman Datuk Lee Kim Shin, who is also Assistant Minister of Sports, said the committee hoped Borneo International Yachting Challenge would be sanctioned and be part of the Asian Yachting Circuit. "If we are part of the Asian Yachting Circuit, I believe it will attract more boats, particularly in the International Racing Class (IRC). This will give BIYC an international profile," said Lee. Lee also revealed that the committee had appealed for assistance and support from Tourism Malaysia and the Malaysia Tourism and Promotional Board. "BIYC is the only sailing or yachting event in this region, particularly on the Island of Borneo. Therefore, we need financial and other help to develop and promote it as the event here. It will bring in a lot of benefits for the tourism and service industry." |
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