Sandakan folks challenged to keep Sandakan town, toilets clean

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(From left) Jaffari, Calvin Chong, Arunarnsin, Arifin, Johny, Hamsan and Pg Roslan during the launching ceremony of the Sandakan Festival 2019.

SANDAKAN: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal has challenged the people of Sandakan to keep Sandakan town, its environment and public toilets clean, in effort to boost the tourism industry here.

“If our tourism places are polluted and not clean because of our irresponsibility, surely the government’s effort to make the tourism sector as one of our main sources of income would fail, thus hindering the government’s plan to grow the economy of Sabah.

“Hence, I hope that all the people of Sandakan would take the challenge and ensure the cleanliness of your surroundings, including public toilets, in the town clean. All restaurant owners are also urged to keep the toilets in their premises clean at all times,” he said.

Shafie said this in his speech which was read by the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department, Arifin Asgali, during the launching ceremony of Sandakan Festival 2019 at the Sandakan municipal field here on Saturday night.

“The practice to keep clean is important not only to impress the tourists, but, more importantly, to ensure the wellbeing of the people in the State, including Sandakan.

“Sandakan is truly lucky to possess the beauty of nature that could attract people, including foreign tourists. Sandakan has Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, Rainforest Discovery Centre, Labuk Bay Proboscis Monkey, swiftlet bird’s nest in Gomantong Cave, turtle species in Selingan Island, Batu Sapi Heritage Park and Berhala Island Recreational Park that is soon to be developed. Therefore, I hope to see the tourism activities in Sandakan continue growing for the benefit of the people, and (at the same time) create more job opportunities for the youths in this district,” he said.

The Sandakan Festival is a cultural, art and sports event to promote Sandakan as one of the tourism districts that is rich with its colourful culture and unique flora and fauna.

For this year, Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) has put in place all the activities to be held in conjunction with the festival for the month of August.

According to Shafie, the Sandakan Festival programme is in line with the direction of the Sabah State Government as the tourism sector is now an important contributor to the economic growth of the State, including Sandakan.

“That is why I hope that the people of Sandakan will make good use of this opportunity because the tourism sector could generate higher returns. Other than that, it could also create job opportunities for the youths, especially in tourism, hospitality, transportation, and more,” he said.

Shafie said, the growth of the tourism sector in Sandakan could be seen through the statistics on the number of tourists in Sabah. In 2018, some 3.879 million tourists entered Sabah with income recorded at RM8.342 million, compared to 3.684 million tourists and RM7.82 billion income from tourists in 2017.

According to him, for 2019, we are well on our way to beat last year’s record with 1.689 million tourists coming to Sabah to date, compared to 1.540 million tourists recorded last year for the same period.

“These statistics showed positive development in the tourism sector in Sabah, and for that, I would like to express my appreciation to the related ministries, federal and state departments, government agencies, local authorities, private sectors, non-governmental organisations, and all the people of Sabah for putting in the effort and energy in promoting Sabah to the international arena,” he added.

Various interesting shows and performances were lined up for the launching ceremony of the festival.

Also present at the ceremony were SMC deputy president Haji Hamsan Awang Supain, Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong Ket Kiun and nominated assemblyman Jaffari Waliam; Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports cum Gum-Gum assemblyman Arunarnsin Taib; political secretary to the Chief Minister, Pg Roslan Pg Nasrun, and SMC deputy president (II) cum chairman of the Sandakan Festival 2019 committee, Johny Ronggitoms.