Calling all runners: The Sabah Salt Trail Challenge is back

KOTA KINABALU: Mercy Malaysia's Sabah Chapter is organising the Salt Trail Challenge fundraising event as part of its plans to provide better healthcare to local communities in remote villages.

The run will be held from Aug 12-13 at the Crocker Range Park, where many species of flora and fauna endemic to Borneo can be found.

With this year’s theme ‘Trail of Hope’, Mercy’s event coordinator Jerry Ong said the non-governmental organisation aims to raise RM80,000 to support Mercy’s activities.

“This challenge is unlike any other running event. We encourage nature and running enthusiasts to join in our Salt Trail Challenge for a good cause,” he told a press conference here today.

“Since 20013, we have provided primary health care services for the communities in Sabah. We have conducted more than 100 mobile outreach clinics throughout the state and conducted disaster relief responses.

“The (Salt) trail symbolised hope for the people in the olden days as they used this route to exchange their produce for salt. Today, it is a trail of hope to the communities to seek better healthcare facilities and education,” added Jerry.

He said Sabah Mercy has more than 700 volunteers who are mostly from the medical field, adding that the team will annually trek to isolated villages in far-flung areas to provide basic healthcare and awareness.

The run is being organised for the fourth time this year in collaboration with the state government conservation-based statutory body Sabah Parks and two other local NGOs, Sabah Amateur Radio Society and Partners of Community Organisations in Sabah (Pacos) Trust.

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Borneo Jazz 2017 ends on high note — thanks to volunteers

MIRI: This year’s Borneo Jazz would not have gone smoothly without the hard work of at least 100 volunteers working across various aspects of the annual festival – as liaison officers (LOs) for performing artistes and the manpower to handle musical instruments, up to event marketing, operations and management.

For Regal Marketing and Trading Sdn Bhd senior area executive Goh Teck Lim, his experience as the LO for the Cape Jazz Band, Osaka Monaurail and Miri Orchestra and Choir Society is something that he would cherish forever.

According to him, working with these bands has given him an enjoyable experience in that the band members are very friendly and easy to get along with.

“I had no trouble working with them at all. I have always been excited to meet people and Borneo Jazz provided me a great chance to meet and interact with people from all around the world.

“Apart from that, I also learned many things like the cultures from outside my native home,” said Goh, adding that he would definitely volunteer again for the next editions.

He also hoped that more aggressive strategies would be used to market the festival and attract more visitors from near and far.

In a similar sentiment, Curtin University Sarawak Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting and Entrepreneurship) student Voon Yu Min treasures the experience.

She signed up as a volunteer under Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) a month ago before Borneo Jazz 2017.

“I became interested to volunteer after a friend introduced me to the festival. I hope to know more about people and enhance my communication skills by interacting with them,” said Voon.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Borneo Jazz 2017 ends on high note — thanks to volunteers

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‘Sayang Lawas’ bags main title in Sabah International Dragon Boat Race

KOTA KINABALU: Sarawak’s Sayang Lawas crossed the finishing line ahead of six other teams to clinch the 4th Sabah Federation of Chinese Associations Sabah (FCAS) International Dragon Boat Race main title at the Likas Bay in Tanjung Lipat, near here, on Sunday.

The neighbouring state’s dragon boat team finished the 800m sprint in a time of 3 minutes and 48.66 seconds to take home the Sabah Head of State Trophy plus the RM10,000 main cash prize.

Brunei representatives, Pasukan Lumba Perahu Mukim Saba Brunei Darussalam (3m 49.8s) and Pasukan Lumba Perahu Lela Cheteria (3m 50.21s) had to settle for second and third places, respectively.

Sayang Lawas also managed to add a second title to their name in the tournament’s fourth edition by successfully defending their Men’s Open 200m Race (12 crews) title earlier in the day after clocking 58.14 seconds.

They edged out closest challenger, Seri Pahlawan Brunei Muara Team (59.03s) by nearly a second while third place went to Ulmala Dragon Boat Team A after it finished 0.17 seconds above the one minute mark.

The Sabah Chief Minister Trophy (Malaysian Men Teams) was won by Rabbana Dragon Boat Team A while Remaja Rukut Rukut Lok Bo Eh Tuaran defended their Kinabalu Dragon Trophy (Local Boys under 20) title won last year.

Continue reading at: ‘Sayang Lawas’ bags main title in Sabah International Dragon Boat Race

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VagabondWay: Pygmy Elephants in Borneo being Amazing and Joyfully Cute

“Oh my gosh! There! Can you see them – Pygmy Elephants!”

We’re all trying to be quiet standing on a small floating wooden dock along the Kinabatangan River in Malaysia, Borneo as we peer into the early morning mist.

“I see more! There’s more coming down and oh my gosh, there’s babies!”

Over the next twenty minutes we watched over 30 pygmy elephants swim across the Kinbatangan River.

We later realized just how lucky we were as the guides in the area had not seen elephants for 1.5 months.

Prior to that it had been 3 months since a sighting.

In terms of wildlife viewing, we just had been given a winning lottery ticket.

Continue reading (Incl. Pics & Vid) at: VagabondWay: Pygmy Elephants in Borneo being Amazing and Joyfully Cute

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A night to remember at Borneo Jazz Festival 2017

MIRI: The first night performance of the Borneo Jazz Festival (BJF) 2017 on Saturday began with a fusion of contemporary jazz numbers by Fluorescent Collective – a brilliant group of musicians dabbling in multiple genres.

The band consists of students from the Berklee College of Music and eclectic musicians proficient in everything from rock to R&B and pop to blues, taking unique melodies and melding them with catchy, odd-time grooves.

Visitors didn’t let the heavy downpour put a damper on their enthusiasm as they waited for the show to begin, lifting their umbrellas above their heads and called for the show at ParkCity Everly Hotel’s stage-by-the-sea to commence.

It was a testament to the kindred spirit shared among jazz fans and enthusiasts at the Saturday night event, further emboldening the performing musicians.

Cabocuba Jazz, a band hailing from the Netherlands continued to keep the audience entertained by playing a mix of melancholic Cape Verde melodies and vigorous Cuban dance rhythms.

The audience sang and danced to their melodic, foot-tapping music before being moved by a more Afro-Carribean groove as trio Delgres took the stage, bringing an impressive ensemble of Delta Blues heavily influenced by Guadeloupe, Louisiana Blues and beyond.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: A night to remember at Borneo Jazz Festival 2017

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