Sabah’s Kiulu faces tourism crisis from landslide
KOTA KINABALU (ANN/THE STAR) – Frequent road collapses in Sabah’s Kiulu, a popular rural tourism destination an hour from Kota Kinabalu, have caused tour operators to incur losses of MYR200,000 due to cancellations and have disrupted local access.
The latest landslide along the hilly Kiulu road, at the foothills of Mt Kinabalu, has even forced schoolchildren to navigate dangerous collapsed sections.
Kiulu assemblyman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai raised concerns about the economic and social impact of these frequent landslides, urging swift action to prevent further disruption.
As Sabah’s Assistant Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Environment, he emphasised that quick repairs are essential to restore access and support the local tourism industry.
“Tour operators in Kiulu are experiencing a significant downturn, as travel agents have categorised the area as high-risk following the landslides.
“Cancellations have impacted a range of outdoor activities, and if repairs are not completed promptly, the financial consequences could worsen,” he warned during a visit to the affected areas.
He has urged the Public Works Department (JKR) and their contractors to regularly monitor the roads in Kiulu to immediately respond to signs of potential landslides or earth movements.
He said two key roads, Jalan Tamparuli-Kiulu near Kampung Malangang and Jalan Kiulu-Lawa Mandau near Kiulu, bore the brunt of the landslides, severely disrupting the community.
Bangkuai said repairs would take two weeks during a site visit with the department to assess the situation at Jalan Tamparuli-Kiulu.
He added that he contacted Deputy Chief Minister III and state Works Minister Datuk Shahelmy Yahya to assist in expediting repairs.
Kiulu Tourism Association president Mejin Maginggow, who was with Bangkuai at the site, said that the longer the repairs take, the more significant the losses for the tourism industry, which relies heavily on nature-based activities.
Thailand’s travel tax set for 2025 launch
BANGKOK (ANN/THE NATION) – Thailand’s controversial landing fee has been rebranded as a “travelling tax” and is set to take effect around mid-2025, initially targeting air travellers, the Tourism and Sports Ministry announced.
On October 23, Minister Sorawong Thienthong confirmed that the tax proposal would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval by the first quarter of 2025.
Once cleared, the tax is expected to be enforced within six months. The fee, known locally as Kha Yeap Pan Din (fee for stepping on Thai soil), was provisionally approved in February 2023 and will charge 300 baht (USD 8.88) for air arrivals and 150 baht (USD 4.44) for land or sea entries.
Sorawong said the money would be used to buy insurance for foreigners and the remainder added to the tourism development fund.
The fund will support the improvement of tourist attractions, including building facilities for the disabled and toilets for tourists.
He said the ministry is working on an application to be used to collect the tax, which will be linked to the system of the Krungthai Bank.
The current insurance coverage amount will remain the same, which is no more than 60 baht from the 300 baht per person travelling tax.
Insurance payout in case of death is set at one million baht, and a maximum of 500,000 baht for injuries.
This amount is on top of the insurance that foreign tourists buy themselves. The insurance under the new travel tax will cover a stay in Thailand for no more than 30 days, which is applicable to around 87 per cent of foreign arrivals, the minister said.
He added that after the first phase, the Cabinet may consider adjusting the tax for arrivals via land and sea channels to the same rate as for air travellers to avoid accusations of unequal treatment.
Sorawong added that the travelling tax will not be levied on cross-border merchants, who will need to show a border pass when crossing to and from neighbouring countries.
Hero’s life: East-West harmony on stage
(ANN/CHINA DAILY) – London’s Jerwood Hall hosted a captivating fusion of traditional Chinese opera and Western classical music with Ein Heldenleben: Cai Lun (A Hero’s Life: Cai Lun), a performance inspired by the inventor of paper.
Directed by renowned Chinese theatre artist Chen Xinyi, known for her “symphony poetry drama” style, the production, which debuted this month, blended Eastern and Western traditions to tell Cai Lun’s story.
The Fidelio Orchestra, led by conductor Raffaello Morales, performed Richard Strauss’s 19th-century tone poem Ein Heldenleben, a continuous musical movement that echoed the heroism of its subject.
The production showcased a unique cultural dialogue, seamlessly uniting two artistic worlds in an unforgettable celebration of history and innovation.
Although Cai Lun’s greatest contribution to civilization was his invention of paper, it was his life as an imperial court eunuch during the time of Emperor He of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), and the court intrigues in which he found himself involved, that caught Chen’s imagination.
“He’s a giant of China, whose invention changed civilisation and advanced cultural progress. But he also experienced misfortune that evoked my sympathy — he is a super dramatic character,” she adds.
With biographical details hard to come by, Chen says that the piece is “inspired by his life, not a portrait of it — it’s theatre, not a history story”.
Combining a story with music written hundreds of years ago and thousands of kilometers apart may seem unlikely, but Chen says that as soon as she heard Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) and understood what it was about, the pairing came together.
The performance is divided into six segments that illustrate the hero’s journey through life and the triumphs and adversities he encountered along the way, which Chen said matched Cai’s story.
“In 2019, I was rehearsing an opera at the National Theatre of China and at the end of the day, I was exhausted,” she says.
“The orchestra manager came and said, ‘there’s a performance tonight of something called The Hero’s Life, you have to hear it’. I said no but he ended up pushing me there in a wheelchair.
“When I got to the venue, I felt like sleeping but as soon as the music started, I began to get visions of Cai Lun, and then I read the program and saw the titles of the different sequences following the hero’s journey, and I could see how they fitted together.”
Combining Chinese theatre and Western music is a practice Chen has been exploring for the last 20 years, with eight of her symphony poetry dramas having been performed previously, but this was her first time performing in the United Kingdom — something she had long wanted to do.
“This country is the home of William Shakespeare, who I admire greatly, and there is the connection between him and the great playwright Tang Xianzu, who emerged in China at the same time,” she explained.
“Then, about 200 years ago, Europe saw the rise of symphonic music at the same time as China saw the rise of Peking Opera, which is a special art form that uses characters to express emotions in the same way that symphonic music does, so these are two great performance styles that I love to bring together, and London is a city where I particularly wanted to do it.”
India braces storm: Mass evacuations, closures
NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian authorities have shut schools, evacuated hundreds of thousands of people and cancelled trains in parts of the country as rescue teams braced on Thursday for a tropical storm brewing in the Bay of Bengal.
Tropical Storm Dana is expected to intensify, bringing wind speeds of 100-110 kph (62-68 mph) and gusts up to 120 kph (74 mph), as it pushes toward the country’s eastern coastline, where it is set to make landfall late Thursday and early Friday, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
Climate scientists say severe storms are becoming more frequent in South Asia. Global warming driven by planet-heating gases has caused them to become more extreme and unpredictable.
The storm is expected to affect most parts of the eastern state of Odisha, which saw strong winds and rain on Thursday morning. Authorities have closed schools, cancelled more than 200 trains, suspended flights and warned fishermen not to venture out to sea.
Downpours also began lashing areas of neighbouring West Bengal state, where some districts are also likely to be hit, prompting officials there to be on high alert.
Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi told the Press Trust of India news agency that around 300,000 people have been evacuated from vulnerable areas, adding that three districts were likely to be severely affected. Authorities plan to evacuate over 1 million people from 14 districts. Several teams of aid and rescue workers have also been deployed to the state, which is prone to severe cyclones and storms.
“The government is fully prepared to tackle the situation. You are in safe hands,” Majhi said.
India’s eastern coasts have long been prone to cyclones, but the number of intense storms is increasing along the country’s coast. Last year was India’s deadliest cyclone season in recent years, killing 523 people and costing an estimated USD2.5 billion in damage.
882 graduates shine at Politeknik Brunei’s 2024 Convocation
A total of 882 graduates from Politeknik Brunei (PB), comprising 388 male and 494 female students, celebrated their achievements on Thursday at the institution’s Class of 2024 Convocation Ceremony.
The ceremony marked the completion of their three-year courses, culminating in the award of Level 5 Diplomas. Graduates hailed from five of PB’s key schools: the School of Business, School of Information and Communication Technology, School of Science and Engineering, School of Health Sciences, and School of Petrochemical.
These diplomas hold official recognition by the Ministry of Education through the Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council.
The convocation was held in two sessions – morning and afternoon – reflecting the growing number of graduates.
The morning session was attended by the Minister of Education, Datin Seri Setia Dr Hajah Romaizah binti Haji Mohammad Salleh, as the guest of honour.
In his welcoming address, PB’s Acting Director, Lim Kian Boon, who also served as the Chairman of the Executive and Working Committee for the 10th Convocation, highlighted the institution’s progress.
“Since Politeknik Brunei’s establishment, we have proudly produced 5,543 graduates across various diploma programmes, including commerce, ICT, science and engineering, health sciences, and petrochemicals,” he stated.
He noted that, for the Class of 2024, a total of 882 graduates had successfully completed their studies in 32 programmes across PB’s five schools.
This year’s ceremony included the graduation of the first cohort in nine new programmes – one from the School of Information and Communication Technology, two from the School of Health Sciences, and six from the School of Petrochemical.
He also highlighted that the graduation rate for the Class of 2024 reached an impressive 97.4 per cent, reflecting an increase from the previous year.
Reflecting on PB’s recent developments, Lim shared that the graduate employment rate for the Class of 2023, measured six months post-convocation, stood at 63.2 per cent, with 32.5 per cent of graduates pursuing further studies.
“These achievements underline Politeknik Brunei’s role as a key provider of high-quality, skilled, and competitive human resources for both the public and private sectors,” he added.
He also emphasised PB’s commitment to equipping students with workplace-ready skills, citing a survey of employers who hired graduates from the Class of 2022.
The survey indicated a 96 per cent satisfaction rate with the job performance and quality of the graduates 12 months into their employment, underscoring PB’s efforts in preparing students for professional success.
Aligning with the Ministry of Education’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027, Politeknik Brunei has been working on initiatives under its own five-year development plan (2021-2025).
Lim noted that these efforts are aimed at contributing to the nation’s broader objectives, including the vision of Wawasan Brunei 2035.
In support of the hospitality sector, Politeknik Brunei has also fostered partnerships with nine industry players.
“These collaborations have led to the successful development of the Level 5 Diploma Apprenticeship in Hospitality & Management Operations,” Lim said, highlighting the Dual-System Apprenticeship Model that combines academic learning with practical on-the-job training (OJT) to enhance graduates’ skills and competencies.
The highlight of the ceremony was the presentation of awards by the Minister of Education to the distinguished graduates.
Notable attendees at the morning session included Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy (Fiscal) Pengiran Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Zety Sufina binti Pengiran Dato Haji Sani, in her role as the Chairman of the PB Board of Governors, alongside other members of the board.
The afternoon session commenced with a student procession, followed by the arrival of the guest of honour Minister of Development Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Muhammad Juanda bin Haji Abdul Rashid.
The Minister then presented awards to graduates, bringing the day’s celebrations to a meaningful close.
Curry power Warriors past trail blazers
PORTLAND, Ore (AP) — Stephen Curry had 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before sitting for the fourth quarter, and the Golden State Warriors opened the season Wednesday night with a 139-104 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Buddy Hield had 22 points off the bench for the Warriors, who missed out on the playoffs last year.
Portland led by as many as nine points in the opening quarter, but the Warriors pulled ahead and led 62-50 at the break. Curry had a 3-pointer to open the second half and Golden State led by as many as 37 points the rest of the way.
Portland was led by Scoot Henderson with 22 points off the bench. Shaedon Sharpe didn’t play because of a shoulder injury.
KACA honours young savers and storytellers
The Association of Children with Disabilities (KACA) celebrated the achievements of young participants in the KACA Saving Project 2024 (2021-2025) Phase 3 and the Storytelling Competition 2024 at a prize presentation ceremony held at its centre in Kiulap on Thursday.
The event saw KACA President, Dato Paduka Haji Zainab bin Haji Momin, in attendance as the guest of honour to present the awards to the winners.
The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by a welcoming address from KACA Managing Director, Haji Awang Alim bin Haji Othman.
He highlighted that the Savings Project began in 2011, with Phase 1 running from 2011 to 2015, Phase 2 from 2016 to 2020, and the current Phase from 2021 to 2025. To date, the children’s fund has amassed BND106,020.53.
Haji Awang Alim expressed his hope that parents would continue to encourage their children to participate in the project, which aims to instil a culture of saving and financial awareness among the young participants.
The project was initiated to teach KACA children the importance of saving, emphasising the need to be prudent with money for a secure future.
“Parents help children to save and manage their finances, as the journey of their special children is still far ahead. It’s better to take the first step today,” he noted.
The Storytelling Competition, meanwhile, focused on developing participants’ communication skills, including listening, speaking, and writing. It aimed to inspire confidence in public speaking and uncover hidden storytelling talent.
The competition was divided into two categories: Category A for those aged 12 and below, and Category B for those aged 13 and above.
In Category A, siblings from KACA Kuala Belait, Nur Amin Darwis bin Latif and Nur Iman Wazif, won first and second place respectively, while Nur Akma Maisarah binti Abdul Hadie from KACA BSB took third.
In Category B, Mohd Rozyman bin Norman from KACA BSB secured first place, followed by Nurul Azeerah binti Haji Sahri in second, and Syahirunnisa Nurul Farhana from Tutong in third.
As for the KACA Saving Project (2021-2025), Norazmie Anak Jambon from KACA Tutong took the top spot with a total savings of BND30,554.05. Nurul Azeerah binti Haji Sahri from KACA BSB came in second with total savings of BND25,145.33, while Nur Azeerah Hezorra binti Heromme from KACA BSB secured third place with BND16,289.48.
38 million corn poppers: Hall of Fame selection
ROCHESTER, NY (AP) — When curators at the National Toy Hall of Fame learned last fall that the Fisher-Price Corn Popper had been voted in as part of the class of 2023, they knew they had some serious work to do.
With a formal induction ceremony approaching, they would have to figure out how to showcase the beloved toddler push toy with colourful balls that ricocheted around a clear dome.
It isn’t as simple as going to Walmart and pulling one off the shelves: The hall, part of the The Strong National Museum of Play in upstate New York, aims to show how its toys have endured and evolved over the years — pieces go from wood to plastic, electronics are added.
That means digging through archives, auctions, the internet and garage sales to hunt for an original, or one close to it — a process repeated with each new hall of fame inductee.
“We want some recognisable things currently on the market, but we also want people to say, ‘Oh, I had one of those!'” said Christopher Bensch, chief curator at the Strong museum, which is a larger-than-life interactive toybox for kids and adults.
For example, when the jigsaw puzzle was inducted in 2002, they added one of the world’s first versions, a map of Europe pasted onto a thin mahogany board from 1766, alongside a child’s Donald Duck board puzzle from 1990. Not all of the toys inducted into the hall are specific products, either — 2021’s inductee was simply “sand.”
In the case of the Corn Popper, the curators needed to find something recognisable to generations. The toy has been around since 1957 and more than 36 million have been sold, according to Fisher-Price. Nearly 650,000 visitors would arrive over the next year to view it and the hall of fame’s other vaunted toys.
Vaults, garage sales, eBay
After being voted in by experts and fans, many hall of fame toys are pulled for permanent display from the museum’s vast archives.
The honorees are usually so iconic — the Barbie doll, the teddy bear, checkers — that the odds are good there will be multiples among the half-million or so objects already in the ever-expanding collection.
But staff are always on the lookout for playthings worth saving — keeping an eye on eBay and garage and estate sales, especially if a toy is already in, or seems bound for, the hall of fame.
With new toys on the market all the time, curators can only guess what might be the next Etch A Sketch, a mechanical drawing toy that’s still popular and virtually unchanged after 100 years, and which toys will fizzle.
“We want to be the repository for them, for the nation or the world,” Bensch said. “That’s why we have 1,500 yo-yos in our collection, or 8,000 jigsaw puzzles,” he said, naming two past inductees.
Some of the stored board games, stuffed animals, doll houses and other moulded, cast and carved reminders of childhood have been donated by manufacturers. Others come from private collectors following a death, divorce or move. A parent recently donated a collection of 1,600 American Girl dolls and accessories after their child outgrew them.
Some items are pursued at auction, the way a fine art museum might acquire a masterpiece. That’s how The Strong landed one of its most prized possessions, an original Monopoly set, hand-painted on oil cloth in 1933 by inventor Charles Darrow before the game went into mass production. With Monopoly in the hall of fame since 1998, the winning $146,500 bid at Sotheby’s in 2010 was over budget — but worth it.
“We’re the National Museum of Play. If we were the Henry Ford Museum and we didn’t have the first Model T, we would kick ourselves ever after,” Bensch said.
An eBay find
Babies have been toddling behind Fisher-Price Corn Poppers for more than 60 years, but finding a “historic” one in pristine, museum-display condition proved challenging.
“Those are toys that get used pretty hard,” Bensch said, “especially early versions with that plastic dome and the wooden balls hitting against it. Those did not survive in great condition.”
What eventually went on display were two versions. One is a 1980 model purchased on eBay from a woman in Canada, who likely has no idea her castaway — its wear and tear evident in its dinged-up and slightly cloudy dome — is now a museum piece.
The other is a shiny new version that is still on store shelves for about USD12, with a sleeker blue handle and beefier red wheels that reflect slight design changes over the years.
“It was hard to find a photogenic one that went back more than a few decades,” Bensch said. “I’m not sure we eventually got one that was as old as we wished for, just because they had been so well loved.”
What makes a toy a hall of famer?
Each year, a new class of toys makes it into the hall of fame, the culmination of an annual process that invites anyone to nominate their favourite toy online.
Museum staff culls the nominees to 12 finalists before a panel of experts votes on the winners. Eighty-four toys have earned the honour since the hall opened in 1998.
Nominees can be as lasting as steel erector set creations, inducted in 1998, or as fleeting as bubbles blown through a plastic wand, honoured in 2014.
Many inductees are a reminder that the true value of a toy isn’t necessarily in the price, but the play. In 2008, an ordinary stick from a tree — but a no-cost sword or magic wand to a child — was inducted into the hall, but Flexible Flyer sleds and the Rubik’s Cube did not make the cut that year. The Easy-Bake Oven was bypassed in 2005 — by the cardboard box it might have shipped in.
The museum received 2,400 nominations for 382 different toys for the class of 2024.
This year’s 12 finalists include Apples to Apples, balloons and the trampoline. Also: “Choose Your Own Adventure” books, Hess Toy Trucks, remote-controlled vehicles, the stick horse, Phase 10, Sequence and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and two perennial nominees, My Little Pony figures — a seven-time finalist — and Transformers action figures.
From them, a chosen few will be announced and honoured in November, and the curators will begin their hunt all over again
RBPF foil smuggling attempt, apprehend two in Bangar
Personnel from the Bangar Police Station, Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF), detained two local men on Wednesday night for allegedly attempting to smuggle contraband into the country.
According to the RBPF, officers from Bangar Police Station were immediately dispatched to patrol the vicinity of Kampong Bekarut, Jalan Pandaruan Tamada, after receiving information about suspected smuggling activities.
During the patrol, police personnel spotted a suspicious 4×4 vehicle travelling in the Belais village area around 9pm. When officers attempted to intercept the vehicle, the driver sped off in an attempt to evade capture. The driver and a passenger later abandoned the vehicle in the middle of the road and fled into a nearby forested area.
Despite their efforts to escape, both suspects were eventually tracked down and apprehended by the police. The suspects, along with the seized contraband, were taken back to the Bangar Police Station before being handed over to the Royal Customs and Excise Department for further investigation and action.
The Royal Brunei Police Force reminds the public to refrain from engaging in illegal activities and encourages those with information on such activities to contact the police hotline at 993 or visit the nearest police station.
