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MESSAGE BY SABAH CHIEF
MINISTER
Message by The Right Honourable Datuk Chong Kah Kiat,
Chief Minister of Sabah and Minister of Tourism, Environment,
Science and Technology
Selamat Datang or
Welcome to Sabah !
On behalf of the State Government of Sabah it gives me great pleasure to
extend a very warm welcome to each and everyone of you attending this
special international conference on ecotourism. I understand that the
500 local and foreign delegates participating in this conference include
some 200 delegates from the Japan Ecotourism Society and more than 50
delegates from 18 Asia Pacific countries.
For many of you this may be your first visit to Sabah, but I believe
some of you are already familiar with the state having visited us when
we hosted the World Ecotourism Conference in 1999. Indeed, Sabah is once
again very privileged to be able to host such a prestigious conference
with ecotourism themes especially this year to commemorate 2002 as the
International Year of Ecotourism.
Sabah ranks as one of Malaysia’s premier ecotourism destinations and is
therefore a very appropriate venue for this conference. We recognize
that the foundation of the state’s tourism industry lies principally on
its diverse natural heritage of outstanding landscapes, marine and
terrestrial ecosystems and a stunning range of fauna and flora. Besides
these spectacular natural endowments, we have also been blessed with a
colourful medley of cultures and traditions. Two important national
ecotourism icons are also located in Sabah. These are the Danum Valley,
a vast tract of pristine lowland rainforest on the east coast, and Mount
Kinabalu, which was declared as Malaysia’s first World Heritage Site in
Year 2000 for its remarkable biodiversity.
Sabah also has many other exceptional nature-based attractions
comprising our fascinating wildlife, marine biodiversity and natural
sites located in different parts of the state which would specially
appeal to ecotourists and visitors interested in nature. Among these are
Sukau and the Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary, the Turtle Islands Park
and the Sepilok Orang Utan Sanctuary to name a few. I understand a
number of these attractions are part of the conference tours which have
been specially organized for participants to have a personal experience
of our heritage, many of which are also designated ecotourism sites.
Tours to neighbouring Brunei and Sarawak have also been organized to
enhance the choices. Indeed, I hope you all would be able to avail
yourselves for these tours.
We have learned from many such conferences in the past on how to better
manage our nature-based assets to carry out beneficial forms of tourism
that can help to maintain the integrity of our environmental and
cultural landscapes. We hope we can continue to do the same and also
learn more from this conference. To all participants I wish you all a
fruitful and enjoyable conference.
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