KUCHING: The second annual Southeast Asian Studies Symposium being held in London last week was one of the opportunities to promote Sarawak as an eco-tourism destination through academic collaboration in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe.
Sarawak Housing and Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Abang Openg took the opportunity to promote and market Sarawak as an eco-tourism destination at the event, which was held on March 9 at the historical Balliol College, Oxford University in London.
The state Tourism Ministry hosted a dinner for the 210 symposium participants, comprising academicians, researchers and scientists from United Kingdom, Europe and Southeast Asian countries, where guests were also entertained to a 30-minute Sarawak Cultural extravaganza by dancers from the Sarawak Cultural Village.
“The minister was given the honour and privilege to address the audience,” said the ministry in a statement released here today.
It said a special paper on “Edible Bird Nest” in Borneo was also shared by Datuk Seri Lord Cranbrook, who had done extensive research in Sarawak on its rich biodiversity and ecosystem as well as written a few books and articles on Sarawak and Borneo.
Dignitaries present included United Kingdom Member of Parliament and Chair for All-Party Group for Asean Mark Pritchard, Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK Datuk Seri Zakaria Sulong, and Indonesian Ambassador to UK T.M. Hamzah Thayeb while Sarawak was presented by a team of five academicians from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) led by its vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Khairuddin Abdul Hamid.
Meanwhile Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud said that the tourism sector was going to be big for Sarawak, particularly eco-tourism, which provided better employment opportunities for the people.
When delivering his inaugural public lecture, “Sarawak Beyond Today: Challenges and Opportunities,” here on Monday he had said Abang Johari would oversee the feasible studies and implementation of a proposed big eco-tourism project that would involve the development of facilities at the lake of a hydroelectric power dam in the state. – Bernama