RAS may not be profitable but it brings far greater returns to Sarawak and Malaysia, says CM

MULU: The rural air service (RAS) may not be a money-making venture but it is bringing far greater returns to Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole including in terms of human capital.

In putting the RAS in perspective yesterday, Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud pointed out that because of the government’s RAS policy, every Sarawakian now has access to higher education.

“The government does not want our rural people to be left behind, and because of its RAS policy we can see that we have enabled our people to go for higher education like the MAS (Malaysia Airlines) CEO (Datuk Idris Jala). I am very touched to see a Kelabit there,” he said, referring to Idris who was made the national carrier’s top man on Dec 1, 2005 and has turned the once financially ailing company around.

When he launched the inaugural flight of MAS subsidiary, MASWing yesterday, Taib said the people of Sarawak were now very well knitted though there were differences in the general income distribution.

Nevertheless, he said, income disparities as well as poverty in Sarawak were diminishing.

He said in fact, only about 1,000 people in Sarawak were really poor and this was because they were still isolated in the interior. Taib assured that the government was aiming at bringing them into the mainstream of development.

“I want to thank the federal government for supporting our aspiration by subsidising the RAS. This clearly shows that the government is very sensitive to our State’s policy of making Sarawak a really equitable society. This will benefit our country later on. Most of us who go up come from little, little places. We are already paying for the farsighted policy we made many years ago,” he said.

He pointed out that the RAS was really the cornerstone of air services in Sarawak beginning from the time of Borneo Airways, which eventually merged with Malaya Airways to form MAS.

He was pleased that MAS had come a long way and he was particularly happy that it had introduced the ‘Wings for Children’ programme through MASWings, which showed MAS’ greater commitment to the rural people.

He was also pleased to have heard that since MASWings began selling its seats, it had received 22,000 bookings for the whole year and he was confident that it would reverse the decline in Sarawak for the past one year.

On tourism, he said that Sarawak’s approach in attracting tourists could not be with big shopping complexes and “swinging night clubs here and there”.

“We are not a swinging place in that sense but what we can supply in Sarawak is a unique tourist experience. People come here to share our food and our beautiful cultures, our varied terrain, 8,000 species of flora and 20,000 species of fauna.

“Mulu is the crown jewel of our attractions. It is preserved in a pristine state and it had been listed as a World Heritage site,” said Taib.

Having said that, he pointed out that eco-tourists need accessibility to remote areas such as the caves of Mulu, the rapids of Pelagus and the tidal bore in Batang Lupar.

He said Sarawak had many natural attractions and numerous activities, such that tourists who had visited Sarawak 10 times still could see all of them.

“Sarawak is aiming for about 3.2 million tourist arrivals a year and we are aiming at making the figure swell gradually because we know when you come to Sarawak, you will feel a call to come back. We have the highest repeat visitors in Malaysia.

“Eco-tourism is one of the best attractions for Malaysia in the ever-growing tourist market. I think the federal government’s decision to look into the needs of Sarawak and Sabah to attract eco-tourists will get good returns,” Taib said.

Taib yesterday inspected the aircraft on MASWings’ inaugural flight and later unveiled the company’s logo. To cap off the day’s event, he released 40,000 fish fry into Sungai Melinau.

Also present then were deputy chief ministers Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan and Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Urban Development and Tourism Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas, MAS’ chief executive office and managing director Datuk Idris Jala, and MASWings managing director Dr Amin Khan.

Written by:
Raynore Mering
The Borneo Post
2nd October 2007