PARADISE ISLE

ROBB READER Opportunities are in store for Langkawi like never before, and Dato’ Haji Azizan Noordin, the CEO of the Langkawi Development Authority, is the man to unlock these fortunes.

Having begun his career in travel and tourism in 1978, Dato’ Haji Azizan Noordin is ideally poised to further grow Langkawi’s appeal as a vacation island. His long tenure at the Tourist Development Corporation Malaysia (now known as Tourism Malaysia) saw him oversee the operations and promotional efforts of all 44 of Tourism Malaysia’s overseas offices, with pioneering stints in Seoul and Jeddah to open up the South Korean and Middle Eastern markets. His current remit as CEO of the Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) charts exciting prospects for the destination to be Malaysia’s ultimate paradise island.

We see LADA’S threefold responsibility in tourism, investment and community bearing fruit

once we are able to boost tourism as this will lead to more investments and improve the lives of the locals. This has the added effect of reversing the exodus of fresh graduates native to the island, as there will be more jobs for them.

Tourism contributes greatly to the island,

hence we are heavily investing in keeping it humming with activities. This year, we have planned 35 events to occur throughout the year; from regattas and the Royal Langkawi Classic Cars show, to celebrating the 10th anniversary of our UNESCO certification as a certified Global Geopark. There will also be Ironman competitions, an ASEAN food festival and the Langkawi Island Music Festival showcasing music indigenous to Fiji, Guam and Papua New Guinea. island with promotional incentives, and have increased weekly flights from 230 to 262 to date. Two airlines – China Southern and Scoot – are the latest to add direct routes. The airport is expanding too, in capacity. When it is ready, it will be able to handle an extra two million visitors yearly, to add to the three million coming into the island now. The target for 2020 is to have five million tourists per year, which will mean that we need another 3,000 rooms on top of the approximately 12,000 we have now.

We have 99 islands, of which only three are inhabited.

We are willing to lease the vacant ones out to those who might have a good business idea. Langkawi is 550 million years old, much older than peninsular Malaysia, and our low carbon output means we have one of the best natural environments in the world.

Our continued engagement environmental NGOS with

such as the Malaysian Nature Society and enforcement from the State Environment Committee and Forestry Department ensures we maintain our natural assets. This is augmented with a balanced development of man-made wonders such as the 200m skybridge and glass- bottomed cable cars that ascend at a 45-degree incline. ≠

“Our low carbon output means we have one of the best natural environments in the world.”

Transformers: The Last Knight

Remember the good old days of Transformers cartoons? They didn’t need to bring in King Arthur and Merlin to keep the story going. Well, guess they weren’t flogging a dead franchise either.

The Dark Tower

What a way to waste the talents of Idris Elba, Matthew Mcconaughey and Stephen King. Also, of lighting crews. Yes, it’s the Dark Tower but really, can we have more light on the set?

The Mummy

Oh, Tom. We know you’re fit, but must you die in a plane crash only to awake naked in a body bag to prove that? Also, this is Brendan Fraser’s show. Always has been, always will be.

The Emoji Movie

Wow, who coulda thunk up this doozy? The premise probably sounded great after the success of Inside Out, but this mess had nary the inspiration behind it. Leave the emojis to Deadpool (btw, can’t wait 4 dat sequel :P).