Mainland Chinese keen to explore Sarawak, says Abdul Karim

May 31, 2017

Abdul Karim giving his speech at the premiere of ‘Blue Tears’ which was filmed in Sarawak and attended by almost 5,000 crowd.

KUCHING: Sarawak has aroused interest from mainland Chinese who are keen to find out more about the state.

Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah discovered that many were curious about Sarawak from his recent trip to Guangzhou, China where he represented Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg.

“Many are curious about Sarawak. We can see from the many questions that they asked during the dialogue and their enthusiasm,” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.

Abdul Karim had just returned from three-day official trip to Guangzhou, China from May 25 to 27, where he led a delegation to meet with representatives of Guangdong Tourism Bureau to discuss joint promotions as well as marketing with Sarawak.

He also spoke at the Malaysia-China Tourism Summit which was attended by travel and tour agents in Guangzhou.

“I find the trip very successful. The meeting and dialogue with 150 travel and tour agents in Guangzhou was very inspiring and they have asked for more dialogues for them to understand Sarawak better.”

Abdul Karim said he will take into account the suggestion by the travel and tour agents in Guangzhou for direct flights to Sarawak either scheduled or chartered.

He said another issue that was brought up during his meeting was on safety and security aspect of the state.

“They must have read the news about the kidnapping in Sabah. I have assured them that there has never been any case of kidnapping by pirates or terrorists in Sarawak and what was seen in the media were isolated and confined to the East Coast of Sabah.”

During the trip, Abdul Karim also attended the premiere of ‘Blue Tears’ – touted as the ‘first ever online movie’ – which was filmed in Miri last year.

“The launching of the Online Movie ‘Blue Tears’ which was filmed in Sarawak was attended by a crowd of almost 5,000.”

His delegation include Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports permanent secretary Datu Ik Pahon Joyik and Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) acting chief executive officer Mary Wan Mering. -TheBorneoPost