Imposition of fees on tour buses at Tun Mustapha Tower deferred
KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew has lauded the decision of the Management of Yayasan Sabah Group and Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd (ICSB) to defer the imposition of fees on tour buses taking tourists to the Menara Tun Mustapha for phototaking outside of the building.
“Tourism players are happy with the decision and will continue to take tourists there to view the iconic structure,” she said.
Christina, who is also Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said the Management can generate revenue from getting more tourists to patronise the Galleria Artisan housed at the Menara Tun Mustapha.
“We must aggressively promote our very own Sabah Batik brand, ‘Batik Bayu', which is an exclusive collection of handdrawn batik on high quality fabrics,” said the minister who toured Galleria Artisan and was introduced to the ‘Batik Bayu' Collection at the boutique in July last year.
The boutique offers a wide range of batik textiles and attire for men and women. These are produced at the Pusat Kraftangan Sabah (or Sabah Handicraft Centre) located in Keningau.
Christina noted that the Centre had made Sabah proud by being the only Batik producer from Sabah to receive the Batik Malaysia MS 692: 2007 certification in 2015.
She reiterated that Galleria Artisan is not to be missed by tourists and must be highlighted as one of the “must see” destinations in Kota Kinabalu.
“Towards this end, the Management can collaborate with tour operators to include a memorable visit to this attractive location in their tour package,” she said.
Earlier, a four-member delegation from Yayasan Sabah led by its Director Datuk Hj Jamalul Kiram Datuk Hj Mohd Zakaria paid a courtesy call on the minister.
Jamalul Kiram, who is also Chief Executive Officer of ICSB, discussed tourism-related matters with Christina.
Also present were the ministry's Permanent Secretary, William Baya; Chief Executive Officer of D'Heritage Sdn Bhd, Datuk Hjh Rosmawati Hj Lasuki and Managing Director of Borneo Nature Tours, George Hong.
Briefing the minister, Group Manager of Pusat Kraftangan Sabah (PKS), Zaiton Bakri said PKS is synonymous with the development of Sabah's handicraft industry by serving as a handicraft training centre for all communities, especially in the rural areas.
It has four main functions, namely
* To act as a centre for development of Sabah's ethnic craft heritage
* To act as a centre of collection, training, marketing, research and craft development
* To work together with other agencies to preserve and promote Sabah's ethnic handicraft to the local and international markets
* To support the State Government's efforts in realising the concept of One District One Small Industry (ODISI)
According to Zaiton, PKS had trained some 20,507 individuals under its Handicraft Training Programme from 2011 until last year.
She said Kristal Handal Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of ICSB, is the marketing arm for PKS.
“It is the vehicle for Sabahmade handicraft products to penetrate the domestic and international markets.”
On the progress of setting up the new gallery at the Sabah State Administrative Centre (PPNS), she said it consisted of a handicraft section, a batik area for men and women, and an art gallery (for live demo).