Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan (centre) discussing a point with Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem (right) while they were on their way to witness the MoU signing between LCDA and SCE. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) is looking forward to collaborate with the Sarawak government in tapping the potentials of the state’s tourism industry that are yet to be discovered.
Its director Kevin Chong said SCE will be working very closely with Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) and state Tourism Ministry to see how they could cooperate to bring up the profile of the tourism assets and attractions in Sarawak.
“You look at the natural assets, rainforest and beautiful caves like the huge Mulu caves, for example and I think these are natural assets which can be better promoted to the rest of the world. Whatever we look to work on, we will bear in mind a few very important things such as the preservation of nature and we want to protect the cultural richness of Sarawak.
“Besides that, with the people of Sarawak in the centre, we want to know what we can do to improve not just in tourism but maybe through tourism development that will also bring along benefits to the people in Sarawak,” he said.
Chong said this in a press conference after the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between Sarawak and Singapore governments to look into the possibility of cooperation in tourism development in Sarawak.
LCDA general manager Datu Sulaiman Husaini signed the MoU on behalf of the Sarawak government, while SCE chief executive officer Kong Wy Mun signed for the Singapore government.
Adenan (standing second left) and Vivian (standing second right) witnessing the MoU signing by Sulaiman (left) and Kong (right) while Abang Johari (standing left) and Vanu Gopala look on. — Photo by Chimon Upon
Present to witness the MoU signing were Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem and Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Prior to the MoU signing ceremony, Adenan received a courtesy call from Vivian.
Chong said SCE was very happy to share Singapore’s experience in tourism development with the Sarawak government through LCDA and Tourism Ministry.
“With the signing of MoU, we’ll look forward at further discussions on what are some of the projects that we can work together on.”
Chong was hopeful that with the development and cooperation in tourism, both parties could find ways to increase the number of arrivals not just from Singapore but also from the region, who would transit in Singapore and then come to Kuching.
When asked how fast both parties could see the outcome from the cooperation, he said the actual timeline would depend on the details of the cooperation.
“I think ultimately, what we are here is not just to look at what Singapore investments can do, but we really want to see what the ministry or Sarawak government’s vision of tourism will be and how we can support that vision by bringing in the suitable Singapore participants be it in the form of advisory, consultancy or investment.”
SCE is a government entity formed in 2006 by Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Its mandate is to share Singapore’s public sector experience with foreign governments. SCE does this by aggregating the expertise from Singapore, be it from the public or private sector to deliver the projects overseas.
Among those attending the MoU signing ceremony were Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, Singapore High Commissioner to Malaysia Vanu Gopala Menon, LCDA deputy chief executive officer for property sector Hasbi Suhaili and state Tourism Ministry permanent secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik.