Turkish world renowned freediver to promote Sabah, particularly east coast waters

 By Olivia Miwil - February 21, 2022 @ 3:59pm

Turkish world-renowed freediver Sahika Ercumen receives a souvenir from Universiti Malaysia Sabah vice chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Taufiq Yap at the varsity's Azman Hashim gallery. - Pictures courtesy of Universiti Malaysia Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Turkish world-renowned freediver Sahika Ercumen will be promoting the beauty of Sabah's waters during her week-long trip in the state.

As this is her first visit to Sabah, the 37-year-old said that she was looking forward to the diving spots in the east coast, including Kapalai and Sipadan.

"In Turkey, we have the Mediterranean blue waters. But we don't have so many species or colourful fishes. I'm so excited to see the biodiversity here.

"We will be doing freediving (starting tomorrow for a week) and on the road, shooting for a documentary.

"We would like to show the people in Turkey how beautiful it is here," she said during a press conference after giving an inspirational talk to Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) students at the varsity's Azman Hashim gallery.

Earlier, Ercumen, who is also a nutritionist, shared her feat in mastering freediving which led her to break 11 world records despite suffering severe asthma as a child, facing failure in one of the world-record breaking attempts, as well as pursuing her studies as a nutritionist.

The Turkey Zero Waste Blue ambassador also said that people should take action against plastic pollution, regardless of where they are, as even more rubbish had been found underwater including in the Antarctica.

Present were Turkish Ambassador to Malaysia Dr Merve Safa Kavakci, UMS vice chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Taufiq Yap Yun Hin and Sabah Tourism Board chief executive officer Noredah Othman.

Kavakçıj said the republic thanked Sabah Tourism Board for bringing Ercumen and the entourage for the trip to Sabah.

"Sahika will be starting one of the collaborative efforts between Republic of Turkey and Sabah in the fields of Sports and Tourism. We would like to put Sabah on Turkey's map.

"When we speak about Turkey, it is not just one country but also a hub and a gateway to Europe, America, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Eurasia and Africa.

"Through the teaching experience of a world renowned and world-breaking sports woman as Sahika, we can reach out to younger generations across the globe on what they can do and achieve," said the ambassador.

Apart from that, Kavakçıj said they were looking forward to delve into academic ventures with UMS, that would, among others, entail exchange programmes as well as research and development in marine studies.