By Olivia Miwil - August 4, 2023 @ 7:18pm
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Customs is taking the initiative to improve their services by encouraging its staff to learn the Chinese language.
Ten of them have successfully completed a three-month Level 1 language course at Universiti Malaysia Sabah's Confucius Institute (CI@UMS).
Conducted by professional tutor Ming Hao, the course offers a comprehensive curriculum, focusing on basic conversational fluency, cultural understanding and specific terminology relevant to Customs procedures.
Participants are able to actively engage in language exercises, role-play and interactive discussions, thereby enhancing their vocabulary, pronunciation and comprehension skills.
CI@UMS Malaysia director Professor Ts. Dr Chong Khim Phin expressed his admiration for the unwavering commitment shown by the participants from the department.
"It is heartening to witness the dedication and enthusiasm shown by them.
"Their decision to invest time and effort to learn the Chinese language demonstrates their sincerity to build stronger connections with the Chinese community and foster a more inclusive society," he said in a statement.
Sabah Customs deputy director Edward Justin congratulated the 10 participants on their achievement and emphasised the importance of effective communication in their line of duty.
"The completion of this Chinese language course equips our Customs employees with invaluable skills that will enable them to provide improved services to our Chinese-speaking population, contributing to a more seamless and welcoming experience."
In 2019, a total of 598,566 China visitors were recorded out of 1,469,475 foreigners visiting the state.
As of Aug 1 this year, there are 41 weekly flights, with a total of 7,341 seats, flying in visitors from six cities in China.
CI@UMS will continue to offer HSK Level 1 classes to the Customs employees, who can more to Level 2 upon passing.
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