RM3m approved to build Bisaya Cultural Centre

Beaufort: The Bisaya community has every reason to smile - the Housing and Local Government Ministry has approved the construction of a RM3 million Bisaya Cultural Centre here.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Lajim Ukin, who made the announcement, said apart from becoming a culture and art activities centre, it would also be used to place the community's historical documents for posterity.

"The allocation warrant for the Cultural Centre has been prepared.

This proves that the Barisan Nasional (BN) Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is committed to make the 1Malaysia concept a success even though the Bisayas are just a small community in Sabah," he said.

Speaking at the opening of the Eighth Adau Janang Gayuh celebration that was attended by more than 10,000 people here, he hoped the Cultural Centre would become a tourist attraction for the district.

Lajim, who is also President of the Sabah United Bisaya Association, said the centre was also a token of appreciation to the people here and in Kuala Penyu who have shown commitment to develop their areas.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman, in his speech delivered by Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Hajiji Mohd Noor, said the involvement and strong support of the people for the various cultural-related programmes in Sabah was encouraging and further strengthened Sabah as the model of the 1Malaysia spirit.

He said he wanted to use excellence as bait to lure tourists to the State.

He said excellence should be reflected in programmes to highlight the potentials and uniqueness of a district or culture of the ethnic groups, especially those listed in the State tourism calendar.

Such an approach is essential to ensure the programmes remain attractive to the various strata of society each year, he noted.

Continue reading at: RM3m approved to build Bisaya Cultural Centre
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Need to upgrade and promote Beaufort's Startevich memorial to tourists

BEAUFORT: Beaufort member of parliament Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin wants the Startevich Memorial here to be upgraded and promoted as a tourism product to attract visitors, especially Australians.

Lajim also called on the Sabah Tourism Promotion Board (STPB) to develop a special package for tourists which will include a guided tour to the memorial site, in addition to other places of interest in Beaufort.

“STPB should come up with a package which allows tourists to stay here and visit the site so that they can learn about the history of this area,” he said to reporters yesterday when met after a service at the memorial site.

Startevich Memorial was erected to remember the gallantry of Australian soldier Private Leslie Thomas “Tom” Starcevich, who in the World War II single-handedly destroyed four enemy machine gun posts near to where the site is now.

Beaufort together with Weston played important roles during the Borneo campaign of 1945.

After the Australian Ninth Division re-captured Brunei and Labuan from the enemies, they turned their attention to mainland Sabah as part of the final phase of their campaign, with the re-capture of Weston and Beaufort amongst the main objectives of their advance.

During the capture of Beaufort, the leading section of Starcevich’s unit came under fire from Japanese machine-gun posts and had suffered casualties.

Starcevich, a Bren-gunner, moved forward and assaulted each post in turn, killing five enemies in the process and causing the rest to retreat.

When the section was held up again, Starcevich adopted a similar tactic and single-handedly captured two more posts disposing off seven enemies.

For his bravery, Starcevich who grew up and later lived at Grass Patch, north of Esperance, Western Australia, served as a private in the 2/43rd Battalion of the Australian Army and was awarded with the Victoria Cross (VC).

The ‘VC’ is the highest decoration for gallantry “in the face of the enemy” awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.

Continue reading at: Need to upgrade and promote Beaufort's Startevich memorial to tourists
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Extinct tropical raintree species discovered in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Foresters are excited about the discovery of three tropical raintree species that were thought to be extinct in Sabah.

The rare dipterocarp species, known locally as Keruing Jarang was found in the Siangau Forest Reserve, near the coastal town of Weston, about 100km from here.

The discovery was made during a survey of the area by a research team from the Forestry Department.

In a statement here yesterday, Sabah Forestry director Datuk Sam Mannan said the species Dipterocarpus lamellatus was last recorded at Beaufort Hill in 1955.

The only other record was from Labuan in 1951.

The island today is virtually devoid of any natural dry land forests, said Mannan.

“It is a very exciting development for us,” he added, saying the research team also encountered four other rare dipterocarps in the reserve.

The survey was part of a statewide inventory by the Forestry Department to determine the conservation status of dipterocarps in Sabah, he said.

Forest botanist John Sugau said that of the 267 species of dipterocarps known to exist on Borneo island, 183 were found in Sabah.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Extinct tropical raintree species discovered in Sabah
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Sabah railway service to resume with free rides

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Railway Department is resuming its train service from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort and is celebrating the event by offering free rides to the public for one week.

According to its general manager, Mohd Zain Mohd Said, the service to and from Tanjung Aru to Beaufort will commence on February 21.

“So from February 21 to February 28, commuters from these two areas can take a train ride for free,” Mohd Zain told reporters yesterday.

The train will depart from Tanjung Aru at 7.45am and 1.40pm daily while the return trip will leave Beaufort station at 11am and 4.30pm.

Commuters traveling to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort can also request for the return tickets before leaving the respective stations, he said, adding that the coaches can accommodate about 210 passengers one way.

“As of March 1, the fare to and from Tanjung Aru and Beaufort is RM4.80 per adult while children under 12 will be charged 50 per cent off,” he said.

“We will be using Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) 6601 and 6602 as well as a locomotive with open deck carriages for cargo,” he disclosed.

The trains are expected to travel at a maximum speed of 80kph which is 30kph faster than the previous engines.

“This means that the traveling time between Tanjung Aru and Beaufort now is about two hours and 15 minutes,” he said.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sabah railway service to resume with free rides
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Kota Kinabalu-Beaufort rail service resumes Feb 21

Kota Kinabalu: The rail service between here and Beaufort which has been disrupted for quite sometime for improvement works on the tracks will fully resume on Feb. 21.

State Railways General Manager, Hj Mohd Zain Hj Mohd Said, said to commemorate the resumption of service, the rides would be free until Feb.

27. However, commuters will still have to take the free tickets from the counters being boarding the train. "From Feb 28, there will be promotional rates until the officiating ceremony end of March," he stated.

He added there will be six services between Tanjung Aru and Beaufort as follows:

l 6.10am - Papar-Secretariat (Sembulan) l 5.10 pm - Secretariat-Papar l 7.45 am - Tg Aru-Beaufort l 11.01am - Beaufort-Tg Aru l 1.40 pm - Tg Aru-Beaufort l 4.30 pm - Beaufort-Tg Aru

From Beaufort, commuters can continue their journey onto Tenom.

The entire Tg Aru-Tenom trip will take 2 hours and 15 minutes and the coaches will run at a speed of 80km per hour compared to 50km previously.

There will be a total of 14 stations between Sembulan and Tenom, namely: Secretariat-Tg Aru-Putatan-Kinarut-Kawang-Papar-Kimanis-Bongawan-Membakut-Beaufort-Saliwangan Baru-Halogilat-Rayoh-Pangi-Tenom.

Meanwhile, Hj Zain said the railway service was introduced in Sabah (then North Borneo) by the then British North Borneo Chartered Company Limited.

"The first railway track, a distance of 32 km, was laid in 1896 and completed in 1990 , linking Weston and Beaufort.

Continue reading at: Kota Kinabalu-Beaufort rail service resumes Feb 21
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"Last Train of Borneo" disappointment

The train ride from Beaufort to Pangi (near Tenom) - a distance of 129km - is the last leg of the train journey which originates daily from Kota Kinabalu.

Brochures describe the Beaufort-Pangi ride as the "Last Train of Borneo".

The slogan holds out promise of wholesome old-fashioned adventure offering breathtaking views of the Padas river rapids as water gushes through the Padas gorge.

The views definitely give hints of the thrills and spills in store for the white water rafter from Pangi back to the Rayoh station, a distance of 8km.

Rayoh is between Pangi and Beaufort.

Twenty members of the Persatuan Pengembara Labuan (Labuan Backpackers' Association planned to experience the rafting adventure on Christmas Day. But when they arrived in Beaufort from Labuan on Dec 24, they suffered their first disappointment.

The train would not have a morning service because the engine was "rosak" (broken down).

Pangi is the starting point for Padas river rafting.

The backpackers, however, managed to board the afternoon journey at 1.30pm.

The journey truncated at the Halogilat station which was a half-way point to Pangi.

Here a second disappointment was in store as the train would not proceed to Pangi because the tracks were being repaired.

Requests that the train take the backpackers a further 8km to Rayoh station which would be nearer to Pangi was also not entertained.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: "Last Train of Borneo" disappointment
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Sabah Tourism: Pesta Bagandang, Beaufort

Date: 5 - 6 November 2010

If you're looking for a dose of music education, make a stopover at the Beaufort district for the annual Bagandang Festival. Learn about the colourful cultures of the Bisaya, Lundayeh, Murut and Brunei people while enjoying traditional and modern musical performances featuring instruments such as the kulintangan and mini brass gongs nornamlly played during weddings.

Source: Sabah Tourism

NOTE: Photo Copyright to Sabah Tourism
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