Category: News

The First Year Anniversary for the Brooke Gallery will be celebrated on September 24 at Fort Margherita.

Over the course of one year, the gallery has recorded over 26,000 visitors, with some 13% of them being global visitors from at least 70 countries. 

The gallery has also received more than 60 schools and their field trip groups, welcomed more eight ambassadors and high commissioners and heads of state, including the former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.

The anniversary celebration will include an Inaugural Cardboard Boat Race on the Sarawak river as well as fun activities for secondary school students based on Sarawak’s history and heritage.

 

The inaugural Borneo Fest was a great success after being held on September 11 at the Suria KLCC to promote Sarawak and Sabah to local and foreign travellers.

This festival focused on educating West Malaysians and foreign tourists about the history of Malaysia’s formation as well as showcasing Sarawak and Sabah’s unique culture, crafts, music food and fashion.

A variety of activities were featured in the one-day event including a Borneo fashion competition, cultural dance performances and a ‘sape’ musical presentation by Saufi Aiman Yahya, Alena Murang and Anderson Kalang, three famous sape players from Sarawak.

The Normah Medical Specialist Centre (NMSC) in Kuching has recently been awarded a Gold Seal of Approval for Hospital Accreditation by the Joint Commission International.

The Golden Seal of Approval was awarded to NMSC in recognition of its continuous compliance with internationally-recognised standards, and is testament to the quality treatment provided in providing a safe and effective care for local and international patients.

The Joint Commission International is a United States based non-profit organisation that accredits and certifies nearly 21,000 health care organisations and programmes.

NMSC is one of Sarawak’s leading medical institutes providing international class medical facilities and has found favour among Indonesians seeking medical treatment.

Miri will host its Visit Miri Year (VMY) 2018 next year.

The Miri City Council has formed a VMY 2018 organising committee with eight sub-committees, namely marketing and publicity; transportation; accommodation; events and calendar; safety and security; tour packages and products; local produce; and tourism impact studies to ensure the success of the campaign.

It will collaborate with the state’s Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, Sarawak Tourism Board, the Miri Residents Office and Miri District Office, Sarawak Forestry Corporation and non-governmental organisations to make the most out of the VMY 2018 campaign.

Miri City Mayor, Adam Yii has urged local tourism stakeholders to give their best to ensure that their goals are met.

Sarawak is “Malaysia’s Favourite Destination” for the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) Fair 2017, to be held on 8 to 10 September at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.

Presenting the State with the promotion theme ‘Sarawak Je’, more than 100 travel packages will be offered for sale during the three day weekend fair by 13 travel agencies and hoteliers from Sarawak.

These packages will be made available at the Sarawak Pavillion at booth number 4M001 to 4M011 in Hall 5.

Fort Alice’s restoration efforts recently won the Gold Award under the “Conservation” Category in Pertubuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) or Malaysia Institute of Architects’s 2017 Awards.

Arkitek JFN Sendirian Berhad (Sdn Bhd) were responsible for the restoration and completed the project under the direction of Mike Boon, previously President and founding member of the Sarawak Heritage Society, with advisory contributions from Dr. John Ting, an architecture historian.

The jury of the awards cited their decision on choosing Fort Alice because of the “attention to detail reflected in the restoration of this old fort is truly amazing while the effort made to engage the local community in helping to preserve history for future generations is just as impressive.”

Fort Alice, named after the second white Rajah, Charles Brooke’s wife Margaret Alice Lili de Windt, was built in 1864 and is located in Sri Aman, about 200km from Kuching.

 

Kuching is set to host a three-day International Summit on Peace from September 6 to 8 that will   bring together over 800 JCI representatives from international social and youth organisations

The joint effort between the Junior Chambers International (JCI) and Sarawak Government, the Summit will take place as a prelude to the International Day of Peace on September 21. 

It will provide a platform for young people from across the globe to join in dialogues and plans of sustainable solutions to achieve world peace.

The programme features training workshops, plenary discussions, keynote addresses by international leading speakers and tours showcasing Kuching’s cultural and religious diversity and harmony.

Detailed information on the programme and registration can be found at the event’s website at  www.peaceispossible.cc/summit.

Kuching City was chosen to be the host for this year’s Summit due to its reputation as a City of Unity, and JCI President, Dawn Hetzel said  that Kuching not only provides the perfect location but also demonstrates how a peaceful communities can co-exist.

“It will empower active citizens everywhere to begin analysing their own community needs and provide sustainable solutions that create the same united and peaceful culture.” she mentioned in an interview.

Visitors in Sarawak will be able to learn more about the Bidayuh community with the completion of a Bidayuh Museum   by the end of the year.

The museum, currently under construction is located at the circular “Baruk”  building at  Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA) headquarters at Ong Tiang Swee  Road.

The Association has been amassing a collection of its cultural relics and archives relevant to the Bidayuh people and will be displayed.

The Baruk is conveniently located near the DBNA main office and has a restaurant, which serves authentic traditional Bidayuh cuisine.

Meanwhile, DBNA’s President, Datu Ik Pahon Joyik called for  more exhibits from fellow Bidayuhs including photographs, documents  and any relics of  historical relevance to further enhance the and  improve the museum collections.

The soft launch of the Baruk Museum took place on July 24.

The Air Asia inaugural Pontianak-Kuching direct flight was inaugurated on June 5.

The 45 minute flight departed from Supadio International Airport in Pontianak at 12.10pm (Indonesian time) and touched down in Kuching International Airport at 1.50pm to a rousing welcome from the traditional kompang group.

Also present at the landing were the Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, the Assistant Minsiter of Tourism Datuk Lee Kim Shin, the Indonesian Consul-General in Kuching, Muhammad Abdullah, Chairman of Sarawak Tourism Board Datuk Haji Abdul Wahab Bin Aziz and Air Asia’s Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar.

To celebrate the new route, AirAsia has launched promotional fares with tickets priced at RM89 one way until April 2, for the travel period of June 5 to September 30.

The President of the Northern Sarawak Journalists Association (NSJA), Andy Jong and exco member Thng Joo Hua paid a visit to the Sarawak Tourism Board office in Kuching, on 9 June.

The role of journalism in the promotion of the State’s tourism industry through media coverage of lesser known locations in Sarawak was discussed.

They also discussed the possibility of future collaborations for the benefit of tourism destinations and local-run facilities in Sarawak, particularly Miri and the Northern Sarawak region.