Wooing more foreign visitors by staging musical concerts featuring popular entertainers of the world

There was a buzz of excitement among our local folks on the news reports that there are ongoing negotiations to bring a well-known artist from the United States for an exclusive performance in Kuching this October. I have mentioned such possibilities in a recent interview with our media friends from TVS and the fact that staging large-scale concerts has had a positive impact on Sarawak's tourism sector, attracting visitors from neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Brunei.

Kuching and Miri have now become major attractions for foreign tourists, who visit not only for entertainment but also to enjoy the tourism products offered in Sarawak. If an event is held in Kuching, particularly if it involves singers or performers well-known in neighbouring countries, we can see a significant increase in the number of vehicles entering Sarawak from the border. 

For example, during the 2025 countdown event held at Kuching Waterfront, the Immigration Department, Customs Department, Quarantine and Security Complex in Tebedu, Serian had experienced congestion for three consecutive days. This is because visitors from West Kalimantan, Indonesia came to know that Hetty Koes Endang, the well known Indonesian performer would be performing at the year end countdown event.  

The popular and evergreen band “Earth, Wind and Fire” from USA will also be performing at the forthcoming Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) 2025 at the Sarawak Culture Village in Pantai Damai, Santubong on 22 to 22 June. Nevertheless, it is also important to feature our local artists in every major event as a way to build their self confidence and strengthen the talents of the local creative industry so that it can leverage on the big names in the world entertainment industry.

Recently I took the time to attend the much talked about "Concert Pelangi Nidji Di Kuching" which was held at Sarawak Indoor Stadium in Petra Jaya, Kuching. The "Nidji" band is popular in Indonesia and had performed in Miri City last year at Eastwood Valley Golf & Country Club to the delight of their fans from Sarawak, Brunei Darulsalam and Kalimantan Indonesia.

We thanked the organisers for having featured a number of local singers in their recent concert including popular bands from West Malaysia which had served as opening acts that that won the hearts of the 3,000 concert goers.

 

Having the privilege and honour to represent Premier of Sarawak for official launch of he iconic "Pesta Kaul Mukah"

I had the privilege to represent our right honourable Premier of Sarawak for the official launching of this year's "Pesta Kaul Mukah" which was held at Pantai Kala Dana in Mukah Division. The seaside festival is a well known event in our state's tourism calendar of events and had attracted thousands of visitors from all over Sarawak including foreign tourists. 

The organising of the annual event not only strengthens the cultural heritage of the Melanau community, but also has a positive impact on the tourism sector and the local economy. The festival also provide ample opportunities for small entrepreneurs, promotes local products and introduces Mukah as a unique tourist destination to visitors from home and abroad.

It is a cultural heritage of the Melanau community that is rich in symbolic, customary and spiritual values and one of the symbols of the identity as well as self-respect of the Melanau community. At the same time, it is a strong testament to the richness and diversity of the culture of Sarawak which is well known for the everlasting peace and harmony among the people from various background and ethnicities.

Sarawak Pavillion at Singapore's "The Meetings Show Asia Pacific"

I had the privilege to be invited to grace the opening ceremony of Sarawak’s Pavilion at “The Meetings Show Asia Pacific” (TMS) in Singapore where we are proud to unveil two landmark launches that reflect our bold aspirations and unwavering commitment to progress in tourism and business events industries. The Sarawak Pavilion was set up and powered by our state agency, Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and is more than just a showcase on Sarawak which aims to become a developed,

influential, and globally competitive hub for international business events and tourism. There are nine co-exhibitors at the pavillon and presenting their world-class products and services. Kudos to all our strategic partners who are serving as ambassadors of Sarawak’s hospitality and capability. This year at Sarawak’s Pavilion are also showcasing our local community-based products through special showcases and complimentary giveaways for visitors to experience and enjoy.

My appreciation to BESarawak for having invited me to launch the revamped “Tribe Legacy Sarawak” campaign on a regional platform with the powerful new tagline:

“Driving Impact Together”. This marks our renewed commitment to positioning Sarawak as the capital of legacy impact for Malaysia and Borneo through the transformative initiatives:

1. “LEGACY360” – the forthcoming event is to be held in Kuching City on 2 - 3 October and it is essentially Southeast Asia’s first event dedicated to business event

legacies. The event will enable participants to discover how purposeful events are transforming communities, organisations, and industries.

2. “Borneo Inspire Legacy Awards – With 18 awards across five categories, this global recognition platform is now open for nominations. Those interested can submit their impactful events or projects by 15 June where winners will be announced during a special ceremony following

LEGACY360.

3. “A.I. Legacy” is our newest innovation where it is the first Intelligent “Impact Management System” for business events. It is designed to measure, monitor, and report the quantitative and qualitative impact of business events hosted in Sarawak aligned to the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy of Sarawak (PCDS) and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals. We have high hope for these three initiatives are part of the growing I.AM.LEGACY movement a call to action to educate, advocate, and celebrate meaningful impacts with all round purpose.

Welcoming revival of Borneo Games after a 12 year hiatus

The revival of the Borneo Games after a 12 years hiatus is much welcomed by all parties taking part in the event scheduled to be held in Kuching City on 24 to 28 September this year. We view the revival of the regional sporting event as crucial because it was first introduced in 1955 and last held in 2013. The revival of the games this year requires the organising committee to treat it as a fresh launch, prioritising quality over quantity due to the long hiatus.

For the forthcoming games to be very well organised, it should suffice for it to have just five sports for now. But we did open it up to others, and if there’s any interest or agreement from the main committee, we could include more sporting events. This time round, the traditional sports such as tug-of-war and blowpipe would also be featured in the Borneo Games 2025, alongside an invitational golf event to add cultural and recreational flavour to the event.

As I have mentioned to our media friends earlier, the other three events to be featured in Borneo Games 2025 would be athletics, archery and lawn ball. During the first meeting with the relevant participating contingents, we had discussions and there was a general consensus for the games to restart on a modest scale, and to expand in future editions, depending on facilities and readiness of everyone concerned.

We have to take into consideration factors such as some provinces not having the relevant sports infrastructure, or enough athletes. For example, the Brunei side had stated that they would love to host the games, but they told us about them not having the facilities. Their population is around 400,000 and it is smaller when compared to Kuching alone when the number of our people is double that.

Nonetheless, the long-term goal of having Borneo Games is that the hosting venue and duties will be rotated among Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and the Bornean provinces of Indonesia. We are hopeful for the games to continue grow stronger from here especially with everyone’s support and cooperation.

Paying tribute to former Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdullah Badawi

Tributes are pouring for our former Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who passed away at the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur at 7.10pm yesterday at the age of 85. I have informed our media friends that the late Tun Abdullah who was also fondly know "Pak Lah" was one of Malaysia’s least controversial and cleanest premiers.

On behalf of myself and our ministries, I have expressed our deep sadness over the passing of Pak Lah - the fifth Premier of Malaysia whom I have described as a well-respected and widely accepted leader. 

He might not have been as vocal and noisy like the others but he did his part as Prime Minister and was very well accepted by Malaysians. If we recalled that under his leadership, Barisan Nasional (BN) had secured a more than two-thirds majority in Parliament, a feat that demonstrated the public’s strong support for him at the time. 

I had further praised the government’s decision to accord Pak Lah a final resting place at the Heroes’ Mausoleum in Kuala Lumpur, calling it ‘very apt’ for a leader of his calibre. When we look at other former prime ministers, I believe this is one person (Abdullah) who is least controversial and least corrupted. The others, even though not yet found guilty, have been linked to so many bad things. We pray that his soul will be blessed and placed among the pious.

Junior tennis players from 20 countries vying for top honours in 52nd Sarawak Premier Cup International Junior toruney

This morning I had congratulated our Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) for having succeeded to include this year’s edition of Sarawak Premier Junior Tennis Championship in the prestigious J300 International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Series. We had a press conference at our office to officially announce the staging of the forthcoming event which being organised annually by SLTA in Kuching City.

The local home grown tennis event has entered its 52nd edition and this time it had attracted entries from 20 different countries. Top junior tennis players are vying for top honours in the event which starts on 20 to 27 April at SLTA Tennis Centre of Jalan Crookshank in Kuching. Among the entries in this year’s event are Australia, Canada, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, the Republic of South Africa, Russia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, Turkey, United States of America and host country, Malaysia.

Kudos to TVS and its plans to become premier Sarawak home grown television station

Congratulations to our media friends at TVS for having established themselves as the first Sarawak-based television station that was accepted by the public including those from Peninsular Malaysia. This was indeed proven during the staging of the 21st edition of Malaysia Games (SUKMAXXI) and the Para-SUKMA Games in Sarawak last year.

This matter was also mentioned by our right honourable Premier of Sarawak in his speech at the launching ceremony of “Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidil Fitri TVS 2025” held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) this morning. A new building with its broadcast studio will house the headquarters of TV Sarawak (TVS) and is expected to be completed in 2027. 

The new facility, among other things, plays an important role in ensuring the smooth broadcasting and coverage of the 2027 SEA Games following Sarawak being chosen as the co-host. Of course, TVS will be the official broadcasting partner reporting on the events in Sarawak and broadcasting live to the participating countries later.

Junior players from 18 nations converging in Kuching City for the 2025 Asia/ Oceania Final Qualifying Round World Under-14 Junior Tennis Tourney

We welcome participants from 18 countries including who are competing in the “2025 Asia/ Oceania Final Qualifying Round World Under-14 Junior Tennis” tournament which is being held in Kuching City. 

Thank you to the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) and the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for having invited me to grace the welcoming dinner for the participants at Hilton Kuching of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kuching.

The participating teams include those from Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Nepal, Thailand, Uzbekistan and host country, Malaysia. The Under-14 girls and boys qualifying round is one of seven international events to be hosted in Sarawak for the year 2025. 

In my speech, I have commended SLTA for putting Sarawak on the world’s tennis map by continuing to run international junior tournaments in Kuching. SLTA is one of the most active sports associations in Sarawak and earlier on in March 3 to 8, they had hosted the Asia Oceania Pre Qualifying Event under the Billie Jean King Cup Junior Under-16 tournament.

The next international event on the SLTA calendar was the ITF qualifying finals for the World Boys Under-14 Junior Tennis Championship that was held back-to-back with the ITF World Girls Junior Competition that ends on April 16.

The major tennis events of the year will include the 43rd Sarawak Premier Cup ITF World Tennis Juniors J300 from April 22 to 27; and the 44th Sarawak Premier Cup ITF World Tennis Juniors J100 from Sept 2 to 7. The final international junior tennis event in Sarawak will be the 18th ATF Asian Under-14 Series from Oct 13 to 18.

Sarawak is honoured to host these tournaments where the junior players from the Asian region and the world will come together to compete before becoming professionals who eventually become world champions.

Welcoming new hotels development to compliment growing number of visitors to Sarawak

The development of new hotels to cater to the rising number of tourists is important and the strategic investments in such tourism infrastructure are vital, given that existing accommodations are struggling to cope with the increasing influx of tourists.

I have mentioned this recently and will raise this matter with our right honourable Premier of Sarawak and any applications for the construction of new hotels should be prioritised and granted approval. This is because our plans are not just for the short term—one or two years—but for the next five to ten years, as we have seen the number of tourists that keep growing, especially when major international events are taking place in Sarawak, particularly in Kuching.

Such development is important because it is also being part of the state’s preparations for Visit Malaysia Year 2026 (VMY2026). For the encouraging number of tourist arrivals in Sarawak the past few months, we have recorded a total of 810,345 visitors in January and February this year.

This means each month sees no fewer than 400,000 arrivals. Though we have yet to receive the figures for March, I am optimistic that the numbers will continue to rise. By June, we expect to get closer to our five million mark.

In this regard, I have expressed our heartfelt appreciation to all parties, especially the state government and state tourism players for their unwavering support and commitment. 

For every programme that we have organised, it normally receives solid cooperation from all quarters, making it easier for us to promote our tourism industry, including medical tourism, cultural and educational tourism, as well as the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme initiatives.

Sarawak is keen to host boxing event in 2027 SEA Games

Sarawak is keen to become the hosting venue for the 2027 SEA Games boxing event and will consider the wishes of local boxing fans, given the sport’s growing popularity here. The 2027 SEA Games is be co-hosted by Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak, Penang and Johor but the final decision on the venue lies ultimately with the Malaysia Boxing Federation (MBF).

Nonetheless, we will express our intention to be the host venue for boxing ... as we have produced many high-profile boxers. I have also been informed that Penang is keen to host the boxing event. But if Sarawak is selected, we have several venues to offer, including the Stadium Perpaduan in Petra Jaya, and even Sri Aman could be an option.

I have spoken to our media friends on Sarawak’s readiness to lobby for boxing in the coming SEA Games and that it would be thrilling if the boxing event could be held in Sri Aman. 

This because during the previous 21st Malaysia Games (SUKMAXXI), our athletes had fought with great spirit and brought home many medals, not only because they were talented but also because of the overwhelming support from local fans that boosted their fighting spirit.

We must remember that strong home support can undermine the morale of opponents, and sometimes even underdogs can win because of that support. Therefore, we will do our best to ensure boxing is held in Sarawak.

Ushering 3,000 guests at the joint "Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidil Fitri 2025" at The Waterfront Hotel Kuching

Alhamdullilah. About 3,000 of our folks had attended the "Majlis Ramah Tamah Aidil Fitri 2025" which was jointly organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP) and Ministry of Youth, Sports & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MYSED) at The Waterfront Hotel #Kuching. 

The atmosphere was simply lively and fantastic at the event which was held on a modest scale and it was an honour for the organisers to have received the visit by local dignitaries who include the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. Datuk Seri Fadillah who is also Minister of Energy and Natural Resources was accompanied by his wife, Datin Seri Ruziah Mohd Tahir. 

Also present were Federal Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Hajah Nancy Haji Shukri; Federal Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Haji Wang; Sarawak's Deputy Minister of Energy and Environmental Sustainability Datuk Dr Hazland Abang Hipni; Miri Mayor Datuk Adam Yii. 

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Hari Raya visit by our Head of State, His Excellency Tun Pehin Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar & his wife

It was an honour for our family to have received the hari raya visit by our Head of State, His Excellency Tun Pehin Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and his wife, Toh Puan Datuk Patinggi Fauziah Mohd Sanusi.

The couple had arrived at our house at about 4 pm and had spent about an hour with us before proceeding to their next hari raya visit. It was delightful to have spent quality time with the Head of State who had shared interesting recollections of his younger days and during service in the state's Police force.