
Chief Minister to officiate Asean Travel Exchange June 19
Published on: Wednesday, June 04, 2025
Published on: Wed, Jun 04, 2025 Text Size: Tan (standing at right) briefing Minister Liew (seated at left) on ATE 2025. Kota Kinabalu: Preparations are underway for Sabah to host the two-day Asean Travel Exchange (ATE) 2025 this month, says State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew. Basically, ATE 2025 is a premier Business 2 Business (B2B) networking event in Sabah, connecting travel trade sellers and regional buyers to foster partnerships and collaborations on June 19 and 20. The Minister said the State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment (KePKAS) will host this inaugural mega tourism event at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC). Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor has been invited to officiate at the opening ceremony on June 19. Liew said KePKAS supports the proposal for four organisations to establish strategic partnership with Sabah Tourism Board (STB) in organising ATE 2025. They are the Asean Tourism Association (Aseanta), Federation of Asean Travel Associations (Fata), Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents (Matta), and AirAsia Group. Asean has 10 member countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. For ATE 2025, the target audience will be made up of tour operators, travel agents, hoteliers, homestay operators, product owners, and decision-makers from the industry stakeholders. 'As we gear up for the upcoming event, I have been informed by the President of Fata (Datuk Tan Kok Liang) that 354 delegates from 17 countries have already confirmed their participation. They comprise 125 sellers and 229 buyers,' said Liew after a courtesy call by a delegation from the organisers, recently. According to Tan, seller countries include Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, and Cambodia, with Malaysia leading the list at 88 sellers. 'On the buyers' side, top participating countries include the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Thailand. This strong regional presence underscores growing international interest in Malaysia's tourism offerings, particularly in Sabah, which continues to gain traction as a vibrant and strategic tourism hub in the region,' he said in his briefing for the Minister. Also present were the Ministry's Permanent Secretary Datuk Josie Lai, President of Matta Nigel Wong, Chairman of Matta Sabah Mohd Azlan Saleh, and Immediate Past Chairman of Matta Sabah, Lawrence Chin. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
Petronas layoffs driven by global challenges, not Petros issue: Fadillah
Published on: Saturday, June 07, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025 By: Bernama Text Size: For illustrative purposes only. KUCHING: Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) move to trim its workforce stems from global challenges and is not connected to the national oil firm's issues with Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros). Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the restructuring process is necessary amid the decline in crude oil prices. Advertisement He also plans to meet with Petronas to get more details on the restructuring process. 'That is why Petronas has to relook its entire operation. I'm planning a meeting with them to get a briefing on the matter and to ensure that the number of layoffs can be reduced, if not avoided,' he told reporters attending the Aidiladha sacrificial event at Taman Hussein Mosque here today. On June 5, Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz reportedly said the national oil firm is cutting 10 per cent of its workforce to cope with challenging operating conditions, particularly due to falling crude prices. Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the number of staff involved in the downsizing process currently stands at around 5,000, and those affected will be notified in stages next year. Advertisement On May 21, the federal and state governments reached an understanding on matters involving Petronas and Petros. According to the joint declaration, Petronas will continue its functions, activities, responsibilities and obligations entrusted to the company in Malaysia, under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) and its regulations. Any agreements and arrangements between Petronas and its subsidiaries with third parties for the purpose of liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales from upstream operations through to LNG exports to foreign parties remain unaffected. A media statement by the Prime Minister's Office following the joint declaration said all relevant federal and state laws relating to gas distribution in Sarawak are to co-exist and be respected by all parties. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia


Daily Express
2 hours ago
- Daily Express
MCMC says no personal data involved in phone record request
Published on: Saturday, June 07, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jun 07, 2025 By: FMT Reporters Text Size: For illustrative purposes only. - Getty Images PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission has defended its directive requiring phone companies to hand over data on all mobile phone calls made from January to March. The commission said no personal information would be accessed, processed, or disclosed by the commission. It said that the data requested was anonymised and contained no information that can be used to identify any person. Advertisement The telecommunications companies are given the option to either process the data within their own secure environment and submit the required anonymised and aggregated output to the MCMC; or for those without processing capabilities, submit the anonymised data to the commission for processing. 'In both cases, no individual subscriber can be identified through the data collected,' MCMC said in a statement this evening. The statement came hours after the South China Morning Post , quoting industry sources, said that Putrajaya had ordered mobile phone companies to hand over detailed records of phone calls and internet usage as it broadens controls over online activity. The Post's sources said MCMC had sent a letter to telcos calling up detailed call and internet logs for the first three months of this year, as part of the government's mobile phone data project. The data collected would be used strictly for generating official statistics to support 'evidence-based policymaking'. Advertisement It sought such statistics such as the number of active mobile broadband subscriptions and penetration rates by state, district, mukim, local authority and parliamentary and state constituencies. The data was also used for tourism-related purposes, such as generating indicators on visitor numbers and domestic travel trends, MCMC said. 'The use of mobile phone data as a new source of national statistics is a strategic direction set by the government to strengthen the quality and timeliness of statistical outputs for policy and planning purposes,' it added. - FMT * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia


New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Petronas layoffs driven by global challenges, not Petros issue
KUCHING: Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) move to trim its workforce stems from global challenges and is not connected to the national oil firm's issues with Petroleum Sarawak Bhd (Petros). Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the restructuring process is necessary amid the decline in crude oil prices. He also plans to meet with Petronas to get more details on the restructuring process. "That is why Petronas has to relook its entire operation. I'm planning a meeting with them to get a briefing on the matter and to ensure that the number of layoffs can be reduced, if not avoided," he told reporters attending the Aidiladha sacrificial event at Taman Hussein Mosque here today. On June 5, Petronas president and chief executive officer Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said the national oil firm is cutting 10 per cent of its workforce to cope with challenging operating conditions, particularly due to falling crude prices. Tengku Muhammad Taufik said the number of staff involved in the downsizing process currently stands at around 5,000, and those affected will be notified in stages next year. On May 21, the federal and state governments reached an understanding on matters involving Petronas and Petros. According to the joint declaration, Petronas will continue its functions, activities, responsibilities and obligations entrusted to the company in Malaysia, under the Petroleum Development Act 1974 (PDA 1974) and its regulations. Any agreements and arrangements between Petronas and its subsidiaries with third parties for the purpose of liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales from upstream operations through to LNG exports to foreign parties remain unaffected. A media statement by the Prime Minister's Office following the joint declaration said all relevant federal and state laws relating to gas distribution in Sarawak are to co-exist and be respected by all parties.