Sabah to develop more tourism products post Covid-19 crisis

By Olivia Miwil - April 16, 2020 @ 12:31pm

Yang diPertua Negeri Sabah Tun Juhar Mahiruddin (centre) arrived at Sabah Assembly building to open the 15th state assembly sitting. Also present is Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (left). - Pic courtesy of Information department.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah government will develop more tourism products in the state after there is no more Covid-19 threat.

Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin said the tourism sector had shown outstanding performance last year with 4.19 million tourist arrivals with tourism receipts of RM9.01 billion.

“This year, the target of tourist arrivals is unlikely to be achieved due to the spread of Covid-19 that adversely impacted the global economy particularly the tourism sector in Sabah.

“As soon as the threat of Covid-19 ends, the Sabah government will have more tourism products including those involving the rural areas,” he said in his opening speech of the 15th State Assembly sitting, here.

Among those present at the sitting were Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, State Assembly speaker Datuk Syed Abbas Syed Ali and assemblymen.

Juhar added the state government would also focus and take initiative to protect the environment as the beauty and richness of flora and fauna in Sabah have always been the pulling factors in tourism.

“As for the efforts to expand the marine protection areas to 13 per cent by 2023, two scientific expeditions would be conducted to evaluate the probability of Darvel bay, Lahad Datu and Mantanani island to be gazetted as marine parks.

“The state government would also commit to continue the policy on ensuring forests with high biological value to be converted as totally protected areas (TPA), which comprised of at least 30 per cent of state areas by 2025.”

As of today, Sabah has achieved 1.9 million hectare or 25 per cent of TPA, which is the highest in the country.

To further protect the TPA, the state government, via Sabah Forestry department, has also formed an "Enforcement, Tactical, Operational and Protection" squad that is tasked to fight illegal hunting and other crimes in the forest.

Juhar added the state government would also continue and have more forest restoration programmes, as well as protection for iconic wildlife species such as Orang utan, pygmy elephants and Sun bears.