MASWings makes inaugural flight from Miri to Mulu

Photo shows the first MASWings Fokker 50 flight

arriving at Mulu Airport. - PHOTO: GEORGE FRANCIS

By George Francis

MULU - MASWings, a new subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines on Oct 1 took to the skies to serve Sabah and Sarawak. Its 30-minute inaugural flight from Miri to Mulu commenced at 9.20am, the first of 451 weekly flights to serve a network of 21 destinations in Sabah and Sarawak.

Deputy Transport Minister Malaysia, Datuk Douglas Uggah, MASWings chairman and Malaysia Airlines managing director/CEO Datuk Idris Jala and MASWings managing director Dr Amin Khan were among the first passengers onboard the Fokker 50 flight to Mulu.

They were later joined by the Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony of the aircraft bound for the next flight, Mulu to Miri was formalised by the Chief Minister who then inspected the interior of the aircraft.

Sarawak deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan and Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, as well Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Wong Soon Koh, Land Development Minister Datuk Dr James Masing and assistant minister, including CEO of Sarawak Tourism Board Gracie Geikie were also present at the event.

In Sabah, meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman sent off passengers of MASWings' first flight in the state from Kota Kinabalu to Lahad Datu at 10am.

"We're delighted to take to the skies today, offering more frequency, better schedules and connectivity, and affordable fares to the communities in Sabah and Sarawak," Musa said.

Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said the policy of Rural Air Service operated in Sarawak since the era of Borneo Airways, started on Oct 1, 1972 as a cornerstone of air services for Sarawak rural destination that was continued on with the subsidy policy when Borneo Airways and Malaysian Airways were combined.

In conjunction with the launch, MASWings also announced its first community programme "Wings for Children". It is to provide a much-needed support to young patients and their families in rural areas - a free airlift for seriously ill infant and children below 12 years who require immediate medical attention.

Meanwhile, MASWings offers weekly frequencies of 168 Fokker 50 flights and 146 Twin Otter flights in Sarawak while for Sabah, 72 Fokker 50 flights and 9 Twin Otter flights are available. There will be 51 Fokker 50 flights and 5 Twin Otter flights between Sabah and Sarawak.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Miri International Jazz Festival to jazz it up in May

By George Francis

MIRI - The Miri International Jazz Festival (MIJF), which will be held on May 11 and 12, will be documented by Astro to be screened three months after the event.

Prior to that, Astro will be screening the blitz on its channels, namely Cable News Network, Discovery, Travel and Living, and Ria, including its radio channel, Light and Easy.

Malaysian radio channel, Traxx FM, will be doing a live telecast of the festival for its listeners, said Gracie Geikie, CEO of the Sarawak Tourism Board.

There will also be media coverage from Bangkok, Australia, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, at the invitation of Tourism Malaysia.

Geikie expects at least 4,000 jazz enthusiasts from this region and overseas to converge for the two-day second musical extravaganza. The first edition was held last year.

Tickets for the festival are priced at RM$50 (per person per day) and RM$90 (per person for two days). Tickets are on sale at the Visitors' Information Centre in Miri, or can be bought online at www.ticketcharge.com.my.

A total of eight international jazz bands from all four corners of the globe have confirmed their attendance at the festival, which will be staged at the Pavilion of Parkcity Everly Hotel here.

Meanwhile, several tour groups from Korea are expected to attend MIJF at night as part of a travel package with golf games during the day, with the inclusion of a trip to the World Heritage site, Mulu Caves.

Courtesy of: Borneo Bulletin

Sarawak operators revert to sending tourists by boats to Mulu park

KUCHING: Some tour operators have reverted to sending tourists to Mulu National Park in northern Sarawak by river in view of accessibility problems by air.

Sarawak Tourism Board's chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said tourists would take express boats from Miri to Marudi and Long Terawan, and then ride on longboats upriver to Mulu.

``This is a day-long trip tourists, Europeans in particular like to travel by river and enjoy the scenery,'' she added.

Geikie said the board was encouraging tour operators to reintroduce the river travel for big tourist groups as this was one way to ease the flight problems to Mulu.

Continue reading at: Sarawak operators revert to sending tourists by boats to Mulu park

More extreme sports to lure visitors to Mulu

By George Francis

MULU NATIONAL PARK - More extreme sports will be held this year to promote Royal Mulu Resort as a tourist attraction and to complement the existing facilities amidst the natural attractions of the Mulu National Park - a world heritage site.

The resort's general manager, Alan Cyril Robinson, said among the new projects are the Flying Fox to be built across the resort from the nearby rocky hill. The project is expected to be completed by April 2007. Also, to be introduced at the same time are jet ski rides to take advantage of the calm waters of Melinau and Tutoh.

The Royal Mulu Resort, built 15 years ago by a Sarawakian entrepreneur, according to Alan, is to enhance facilities available in and around the Mulu National Park, which is famous for its caves and rich bio-diversity. An average of 30,000 visitors come yearly and more are expected during this Visit Malaysia Year.

Among the resort's newly introduced activities are the nightly cultural performance, and extreme sports such as quad-bikes, kayaking and river cruise.

Defending champion - Bu China Yah - a team from the Mulu National Park, emerged as champion in the race organised by the Royal Mulu Resort.

They defeated three other finalists in the six kilometre race which began from

the resort up to the Mulu Airport and back. Trojan Two from Royal Mulu Resort was adjudged as the best decorated Chariot.

Prizes to the winners were jointly presented by the resort GM Alan Robinson and the Mulu National Park Manager, Brian Clark at a ceremony in conjunction with the recent Miss and Mr Mulu 2006 contests.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Sarawak tourism assets under-utilised

MIRI: Tourism assets in Sarawak are under-utilised, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.

Though the state was endowed with a diversity of tourism attractions, a large part of these remain untapped, he said.

He attributed this to the lack of participation from the private sector in Sarawak.

“A lot of our tourism attractions have not been fully exploited. For example, in Miri Division alone, we have five huge national parks (Mulu, Niah, Lambir, Loagan Bunut and Pulong Tau).

“However, there are no major holiday resorts in these parks, except for one resort in Mulu (Royal Mulu Resort).

Continue reading at: Sarawak tourism assets under-utilised