Handicraft woven from bamboo can generate RM20 mln for Keningau

Kraftangan Malaysia believes that handicraft woven from bamboo can generate up to RM20 million in revenue annually for Keningau with the right marketing and promotions.

Deputy Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the district’s fine, quality bamboo handicraft, such as bags and containers, had been attracting Asian and European tourists to buying it.

“Bags, especially those made by craftsmen from Kampung Batu Lunguyan using the Dusun traditional motifs, are durable.

“It is not impossible that the village comes to be known as the ‘ Land of Bamboo’ as its handicraft is of the highest quality and can potentially penetrate the international market,” she added.

She told reporters this after officiating the state-level Kraf KampungKu programme in Sook, near Keningau here yesterday.

Also present was the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department and Sook State Assemblyman, Datuk Ellron Alfred Angin.

Aside from Kampung Batu Lunguyan, Mas Ermieyati said Kraftangan Malaysia would also be assisting 15 other villages in Keningau, also producers of bamboo handicraft, to market and promote their products to achieve the RM20 million revenue target.

Aside from the Tourism and Culture Ministry, 28 other government and private agencies are also involved in the implementation of the state-level Kraf KampungKu programme.

It includes the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry, the Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority and the Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority.

Mas Ermieyati said that next year, Keningau district would be organising the Visit Keningau Year, which would include a large scale promotion of bamboo handicraft.

She also said that as of February this year, 3,960 handicraft entrepreneurs in Sabah had registered with Kraftangan Malaysia, of whom 1,098 are forest product entrepreneurs, with sales totalling RM4.69 million.

Meanwhile, Kraftangan Malaysia Director- General Zuraida Mokhtar said the agency had always emphasised on sustainable entrepreneurial attributes, to ensure that the handicraft business continue and remains competitive.

“The Craft Village project is not just about implementation. It includes a holistic approach, with product laboratories, guidance, quality advisory services, product design and marketing,” she added. — Bernama

Several local nongovernmental organisations ( NGOs) have been commended for their swift channelling of aid and donations to the residents of Kampung Sekendu, whose houses were razed to the ground during a fire incident recently.

Simunjan assemblyman Awla Dris expressed his appreciation to all the NGOs for their kind gesture in helping the villagers cope with the incident.

He himself also hoped to help the villagers in any way, including the means to rebuild their houses, as soon as possible.

It is informed that the fire victims are placed at temporary shelters, with some staying with their relatives for the time being.

“For now, we need all the help that we can get for the villagers. As the elected representative of this area, I feel sad for them but I pledge to do whatever I can to help,” he said.

Earlier, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department and Batang Sadong MP Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri also visited the villagers and handed over to them RM60,000 from the constituency’s fund.

Fifteen families lost their home and belongings in the massive fire that first struck a six- door longhouse at 11.45pm last Wednesday, before it quickly spread to and destroyed five adjacent houses.

The first ever Asean Conference on Healthy Aging will be conducted in Kuching, Sarawak from Oct 10 to 12 which will be attended by global experts in the field.

Featuring more than six speakers around the world including Yamaguchi University’s professor Takeo Ogawa and World Federation of Occupational Therapist President, Marilyn Pattison, the forum is expected to attract thousands of medical practitioners, ministers, policy makers and also the general public to the Sarawak capital city.

Malaysian Healthy Aging Society ( MHAS) advisor, Prof Nathan Vytialingam said the conference is an ideal platform to learn from other countries as well as share knowledge with leading experts.

“Aging is not a health issue. It is about coping with the combination of social, community, housing as well as employability,” he said.

The three- day conference will also address the urgent need for geriatricians in the country as currently there are only 27 geriatricians to look after nearly three million elderly Malaysians.

According to the World Health Organisation ( WHO), by 2050, there will be two- billion people aged 60 and older around the world.

Asia and Europe are the two main regions which had faced significant increase; noting Malaysia will become an aging nation status by 2035. — Bernama