/// East Malaysia Property News
Taib Touches on Development and
Systematic Planning
Sabah Can Be ‘Dubai’ in BIMP-EAGA
– Fernandes
Taib’s short speech was
a far cry from what he
told the audience at
a Chinese New Year
gathering held by the
Chinese Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
on Monday night.
Permodalan Assar Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Bujang
Mohd Nor (right) presenting a memento to Taib at the
opening of the Kuching Sentral regional bus terminal
After several days of
holding forth about his
retirement, it was very
much back to business
as usual for Chief
Minister Tan Sri Abdul
Taib Mahmud.
Opening the Kuching
Sentral regional bus
terminal here yesterday,
he made no mention
at all of his imminent
departure from office.
Instead, he spoke about
development and the
need for systematic
planning to benefit
the people, themes
he usually touched on
during official functions.
“Kuching is the hub of
transportation in the
state. From here people
can travel by bus all the
way to Sabah, Lawas,
Limbang, Brunei and
west Kalimantan.
“Whatever development
we plan, we must
take into account our
growing population
which is becoming
more prosperous and
mobile, as well as our
connections with our
neighbours,” he said.
Taib also said Ku ching
Sentral was designed to
provide wider services
to passengers travelling
from one place to
another, including
enabling them to plan
18
their journeys with an
information display
system and other
amenities in place.
In other words, he
said, passengers
could see which bus
they want to take and
check destinations and
departure times, while
the shopping outlets in
the terminal enabled
them to buy goods and
necessities while waiting
for a bus.
“Every sector of our
community has to be
planned with a system
to achieve mobility for
our people because
people who are more
prosperous will always
be more mobile.
“Then we have to make
them able to plan ahead
on how to go about
doing what they want
to do. This terminal, in
a small way, shows how
we are able to plan for
the people in manifest
details, even though the
people do not realise it,”
he said.
He added that with
Kuching’s population at
800,000 and growing,
more care and foresight
would have to be given
to planning in order to
ensure prosperity and
convenience for the
people at all times.
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Then, he had said that
he wanted to retire
10 years ago after
formulating the policy
that would become
the Sarawak Corridor
of Renewable Energy
(SCORE), but was
persuaded to stay on by
his PBB colleagues.
“Now SCORE is
far exceeding our
expectations. Today,
I say to you it is time
for me to retire. I
am confident my
successors can make
Sarawak a success,” he
said.
Taib is expected to
meet Head of State Tun
Muhammad Salahuddin
on Saturday to convey
his intention of stepping
down as Chief Minister.
do renovation … so my
preferences would be the
Terminal Two,” he said.
Fernandes, who is on a day’s
working visit to Sabah, said
that he had met up with Chief
Minister Datuk Seri Musa
Aman, and the state’s premier
leader seemed “positive” on
the matter.
Tan Sri Tony Fernandes featured
on the cover of Forbes Asia
Sabah can be the “Dubai” of
the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Phillipines – East Asean Growth
Area (BIMP-EAGA), if Tan Sri
Tony Fernandes gets to fulfill
his plans.
With a plan to expand the low
cost carrier AirAsia operations,
and bringing in AirAsia X, and
adding more aircraft here, the
budget airline’s chief executive
officer (CEO) hopes to develop
the Terminal Two Airport,
which he believes will also
boost the tourism sector in the
state.
“When we first started,
we brought some 20,000
passengers to Sabah. That
was 12 years ago. Today, we
are thinking of bringing in 13
million passengers in the next
five years, so we need to find a
solution to the terminal issue.
There are two options – one
we develop Terminal Two
(which currently operates as
the low cost carrier terminal)
or build a new terminal. We
do not want to go to the Kota
Kinabalu International Airport
Terminal One because it will be
overcrowded and passengers
have to pay RM65 for the
airport tax.
“Why do Sabahans or tourists
need to pay more when our
main objective is to offer them
cheap fares so travelling is
affordable. To me, personnaly,
just because it (Terminal
Two) is an old building, why
tear it down when you can
“He (Musa) has been very
supportive of our operations
in Sabah, right from the very
beginning, and we are forever
grateful with the
RM1 million loan he offered us
to start off the business. Today,
we believe he had played a
great role throughout AirAsia’s
operations in Sabah.
“However, we can only make
plans but it is up to the
authorities here to decide, and
we hope to hear from them
soon,” he said, adding that the
north wing side of the airport
would be a suitable location for
the Terminal Two expansion
project.
Touching on AirAsia X,
Fernandes said it would be
the final piece of Sabah’s
adventure, with the hope to
make the state capital as the
centre between North Asia
and Australia, a hub for most
locations in Indonesia, and
flying to other parts of the
world such as Melbourne,
Tokyo or Shanghai and Beijing.
“This will turn Kota Kinabalu the
Dubai for BIMP-EAGA, where
everyone can fly to any part
of the BIMP-EAGA area with
AirAsia or AirAsia X.
“We want to make Sabah stand
out and we want to make it
finacially attractive. I came
across a couple from China
at the hotel lift. When I asked
them why they came to Sabah,
they told me because it was
cheap. When they go back,
they will tell their friends and
come back here. This is what
we want to offer potential
tourists, and make Sabah as
the best destination,” he said.