Published on: Sunday, December 07, 2008 |
Kota Kinabalu: Central Kalimantan Governor, Bapak Agustin Teras Narang SH, has proposed a direct flight between here and his provincial capital, Palangkaraya.
He broached the subject to State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun, at the welcome dinner hosted by the latter to mark the inaugural cultural visit of a delegation from the National Dayak Customs Council (MADN), Kalimantan.
The Governor headed the delegation on their maiden visit to Sabah. Central Kalimantan, in Indonesian Borneo, is that nation's third largest province.
"This would require good co-operation from both sides - Sabah and Central Kalimantan. Perhaps we could have twice-weekly flights. We will have planning on this and my team will come here to discuss the possibility," he said, Saturday.
The Governor, 52, is confident of tourism exchange between the two destinations. "For example, we could have a package like two nights' stay in Palangkaraya and then back to Kota Kinabalu for those interested in visiting our provincial capital."
When told there has been a lot of talk for more cultural exchanges within BIMP-EAGA but it does not seem to be happening, and that even journalists know very little about Central Kalimantan, he said: "Actually, our cultural visit here is the first step towards more cultural exchanges."
On Friday, he invited both the Sabah and Sarawak cultural troupes to visit Palangkaraya. "We will also invite Brunei Darussalam in what could be a collaboration between the three countries - Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei."
Masidi, when contacted, welcomed the "direct flight" proposal, and urged AirAsia and MasWings to consider the proposal if there is enough passenger load. "I will be the happiest man if this materialises but it is a business decision to be made by the airlines concerned."
Noting that it is cumbersome to travel from Kalimantan to Sabah, he said the Governor and his entourage had to charter a plane from Palangkaraya to Kuching before coming to Sabah on Friday.
"Otherwise, they would have to travel from Palangkaraya to Jakarta and then from there to Pontianak before catching a flight to Kuching and then fly from there to Kota Kinabalu."
On another note, Masidi said there are a number of similarities between Sabah and Central Kalimantan which is dominated by Dayaks, the indigenous inhabitants of Borneo.
While Sabah has 35 ethnic groups with 216 sub-ethnic groups, Central Kalimatan alone has four major Dayak tribes (Dayak Ngaju, Dayak Ma'anyan, Dayak Lawangan and Dayak Ot Danum) with 123 sub-ethnic groups.
"This is what made our visitors feel very much at home while here. The Governor told me that he finds Sabah people very nice and friendly. He didn't realise that Sabah is such a beautiful State."
From the one-hour cultural show exchange (presented by the Sabah Cultural Board and MADN), Masidi could see the resemblance in terms of costumes and the features of performers.
"The Dayaks appear to be closer to Sabahans in their looks than being Indonesians," he said.
Most significantly, the Minister said despite our racial mix, there is peaceful co-existence in both Sabah and Central Kalimantan, adding this is an integral part of our lives.
"Like Sabah, the Province also leads the way in demonstrating racial and religious harmony, which means the world can learn about unity in diversity from these two places."
Masidi invited the Governor to send his cultural troupe to participate in next year's International Folklore Festival hosted by Sabah. "I am glad he has accepted it."
At the interview, Teras Narang said he has set his sights on developing and marketing the Borneo region as a major international and local investment destination.
He felt that economically speaking, Kalimantan should not be separated from Sabah, Sarawak and Negara Brunei Darussalam although these states are separated from the "nation" perspective.
"Negara Indonesia, negara Malaysia dan Brunei Darussalam tapi (but) we are in one island, so in my view, we must collaborate in an effort to develop the interests of the respective countries in one island.
"Let us join together to develop this island, of course, not only for the people in this island but also for the world," he said.
