MASwings has what it takes to become regional carrier

KUCHING: Sarawak and Sabah are standing as one, as far as the potential of MASwings serving beyond East Malaysia is concerned.

Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg believed that the community airline subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) would need to think beyond Sarawak and Sabah, should it want to take advantage of the growing economies across the East Asian region.

“MASwings has the potential to become a regional airline serving not only Sarawak and Sabah, but also the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area),” Abang Johari, who is also Housing Minister, said at the launch of MASwings’ ‘The New Beginning’ at Kuching Waterfront on Friday night.

The campaign is slated for enhancing its customer service via new initiatives.

The minister, however, stated that the state government was keeping a close watch on the carrier’s development, with all eyes on MAS’ ongoing major restructuring.

“Being a subsidiary of MAS, MASwings cannot make its own decision,” he said, pointing out that past restructuring exercises had put adverse impact on the state by way of termination of several international flight routes.

Nonetheless, Abang Johari called on the aviation industry to look into eco-tourism as the fastest growing segment of global tourism in which Sabah and Sarawak had been focusing heavily on, urging for more efforts into finding an alternative to air-link East Malaysia towards the capitalisation of this lucrative market.

“That’s why I agree with Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun (Sabah’s Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister) in taking a common position towards exposing Sarawak and Sabah to, as well as linking (the two states) with the international market.

“Perhaps, MAS stakeholders should look into the possibility of MASwings becoming Sabah and Sarawak regional airline, linking the two states with strategic hubs such as Hong Kong, Seoul, Bangkok, Singapore and Jakarta,” he added.

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Scuba Diving Mabul and Bohey Dulang Island

Me and a group of friends went for a scuba diving trip in Mabul Island plus Bohey Dulang Island. We took an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau at 7am. We reached Tawau airport at 9:50am. A van was waiting to drive us to Semporna town and it took us about an hour drive.

This is not my first time to visit Mabul Island. It is more like a must to do trip to distress myself whenever I have time off from work. Arung Hayat Home-stay is a comfort zone and my happy place. I have been going back diving with the team for the past 4 years now.

Once we arrived at Semporna, we went to have our lunch at Ocean Live Seafood Restaurant at Semporna town. The restaurant is located beside Sipadan Inn hotel and the waterfront is just outside the premises. I believe this restaurant is truly one restaurant that stands out from the rest.

The seafood is fresh, delicious, restaurant is clean, ambiance is beautiful, very welcoming and the price is cheap ! That's what everyone is looking for right? Kenneth the owner of the restaurant is a very friendly guy, always smiling and he make sure that the food and service is up to the standard.

The only thing is sometimes the restaurant is SO PACK and we need to wait.. but it won't take a very long time though. We are on a holiday right !!.. no rushing ..rest and relax..enjoy the moment..live life to the fullest...ooook next ..

After lunch we did some grocery shopping and we went straight to the jetty at Pakalalang Village located 20 mins drive from Semporna town. We took a 30 minutes boat ride to the island. Normal practices, usually all guest will be picked up from Semporna Jetty and the boat ride is about 1 hour journey to Mabul Island.

Our home-stay Arung Hayat has a boat pick up from the village, making the journey faster.

We did one dive on our arrival day. The weather was hot but the water temperature was about 27 to 28 degrees which is colder than normal 30 to 33 degrees. Everyday is scuba diving activity and during the night , we have BBQ dinner, fresh grilled fish.

After dinner the dive crew entertained the guest by playing the guitar and sing for us while we lay down on the wooden bridge watching hundreds of stars in the sky. The next day, some of us woke up as early as 4am to see the sunrise. The sunrise and sunset view is breathtaking.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Scuba Diving Mabul and Bohey Dulang Island

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MASwings offers promotions to selected destinations

KUCHING:  MASwings is offering X-Fares promotions from as low as RM21 to selected ATR domestic destinations to mark the launch of its ‘The New Beginning’ celebration starting today.

During this promotion, passengers travelling from Kuching get to enjoy all in one-way fares to Bintulu, Sibu, Miri, Mulu and Kota Kinabalu from as low as RM80; with the same promotion for passengers travelling from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Labuan including travellers from Miri to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Mulu and Labuan.

MASwings’ second edition of X-Fares promotions are up for grabs from now until June 23, with the travel period from Feb 6 to June 30 this year. The RM21 base-fares are not inclusive of airport taxes, fuel and insurance charges, which start from RM59 one-way, subject to MASwings terms and conditions.

The public could visit MASwings exhibition booth at Kuching Waterfront today and tomorrow to check out its promotions. The above offers are also available through MASwings/Malaysia Airlines ticketing offices, 24-hour Call Centre at toll-free 1300 88 3000 and website www.maswings.com.my.

“The New Beginning event is held to thank the people of Sarawak and Sabah for supporting the airline since its conception in 2007.

“We attracted about 10 million passengers over the past eight years and want to ensure MASwings become an icon for the people here as it belongs to Sabah and Sarawak.

“We continue to emphasis safety and improve our service to customers,” MASwings chief executive officer Capt Ritzerwan Rashid told a press conference at Hilton Hotel here yesterday.

Continue reading at: MASwings offers promotions to selected destinations

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Shifting dependency on China tourist saved Sabah arrivals

KOTA KINABALU: The quick switch of focus in tourism saved the overall total arrivals from further declining after Sabah faced a steep drop in Chinese arrivals in 2014.

The 2014 Sabah tourism report card today revealed that efforts in strengthening other market source were fruitful in arresting the overall tourism decline.

The trend of weakening Chinese arrivals was also seen nation-wide and Sarawak as well as in neighbouring country, Singapore.

Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said there was a -3.7% drop in the overall 2014 tourist arrivals bringing a nett total of 3.065 mil visitors compared to 3.181 mil in 2013, mainly caused by the decrease of Chinese tourists into Sabah.

Continue reading at: Shifting dependency on China tourist saved Sabah arrivals

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Places to see orangutans in Borneo

In case you are wondering where Borneo is and what it is, it’s an island located in South East Asia, south of Malaysia and North of Australia.

Borneo is renown for its stunning rainforests, which are home to a large number of animal and plant species.

The island is divided among three countries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south.

Today, however, we are only “visiting” the Malaysian part, as it features numerous places where to see wild orangutans!

If you are an animal lover, this kind of vacation is perfect for you.

Trekking in the jungle, discovering local villages and having a one-on-one meeting with a red, fluffy orangutan.

Sounds like a dream vacation to me, to be honest!

Anyway, to go back to the animals, The Golden Scope selected five places that are considered to be the best to view orangutans.

Next thing you should do now is picking the one you like the most and head down there to have a one-of-a-kind experience.

Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

The Semenggoh Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is 12 miles from Kuching, the capital city of the state of Sarawak.

The main purpose of this center is to reintroduce orangutans back into the wild.

Kubah National Park

The Kubah National Park is also located not too far from Kuching.

The park presents a center, called the Matang Wildlife Centre, which is nestled away in the forest, and is home numerous orangutans.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics) at: Places to see orangutans in Borneo

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