Lyna Mohamad
“If there is any issue in Miri, please let us know. I had a dialogue with the Police Chief in Miri highlighting that we in Miri must ensure that Bruneians are safe in Miri. If there are other issues, let us know. We want to ensure Bruneians have an enjoyable trip in Miri,” said Miri City Council Mayor Adam Yii Siew Sang.
The Mayor made the statements during a courtesy call to Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin, who hosted the delegation at the Minister’s office yesterday. In an interview with the Bulletin during a luncheon at the Malaysian High Commission in Brunei hosted by Malaysian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Dato Raja Reza bin Raja Zaib Shah, the mayor said the discussion revolves on promoting tourism between Brunei and Miri.
“I am very happy to know that the minister also shares the view that we need to promote Brunei and Miri together as a package destination. For that to happen the authorities from Malaysia and Brunei are looking on ways to facilitate the logistic part of it and to make sure that the connectivity is stimulus.”
Adam Yii also said people in Miri take advantage of the Brunei International Airport as their gateway as Miri only has Miri-Singapore international flight. Brunei’s national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) has a good network of destinations that people in Miri can facilitate.
“We need to look into allowing Malaysian coaches to ferry passengers to the Brunei airport so that it is convenient for Mirians to fly on RB.”
All these suggestions were well received by the minister, the Mayor said.
He said he was happy to note on the ongoing activities between both countries in working together to develop Brunei and Miri.
He noted that both sides could work together and come up with packages that could attract potential tourists from both countries.
Touching on the near completion of Pan Borneo Highway, the mayor said the road network will be beneficial for the whole of Borneo as people can drive from Brunei to Kuching, Adam said.
“The highway network in Kalimantan is quite developed and you can proceed on a road trip to Kalimantan. This has very vast potential for foreign tourists. I think domestic tourism needs to be encouraged.”
People in Miri are happy that Bruneians are coming back to Miri, he said.
