KOTA KINABALU: Germany's Ambassador to Malaysia is here on a short visit to assess the security and environment situation in Sabah, while looking at broader cooperation opportunities with the state.
Dr Peter Blomeyer said he hopes to bring positive news back to his government on these issues as he visits various locations including Kinabalu Park, Sandakan, Tawau and Semporna.
According to a statement issued by the State Tourism, Culture and Environment ministry, he said there is a travel warning for German nationals concerning some east coast districts but he wanted to assess the security situation himself before making a report.
“However, it would be for Berlin to decide whether or not to lift the travel advisory,” he was quoted as saying during a courtesy call on Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew at her office in Wisma Tun Fuad Stephens here on Thursday (June 1).
The ambassador is here on a maiden visit to view German projects, meet members of non-governmental organisations and get a picture of life in this part of the world with different ethnic groups and cultures.
Apart from that, Blomeyer is also in Sabah to assess the environmental situation and learn more on Sabah’s efforts to protect and preserve nature.
He wants to know Sabah's mitigation measures to tackle fish bombing, coral changes, plastic pollution, climate change and floods, among other issues.
During the courtesy call, Liew and the ambassador spoke on many other topics including future collaborations, potential work relations, arts and culture, and diversity in Sabah.
Liew told Blomeyer that Sabah plans to offer "two in one" packages to potential visitors, giving them the opportunity to explore the state as tourists after attending business events, and that proposed incentive packages for travellers were in the pipeline.
He said the German Embassy in Kuala Lumpur will help promote Sabah as an ideal destination for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions & Exhibitions) events.
He said Germany has companies specialising in tourism events, including study tours to certain cities, so if deals can be struck between these agencies, a win-win situation would emerge.
"Being the biggest tourism trade fair in the world, ITB Berlin is the best occasion to promote what you want for Germany and other global tourism players who are all there," he said.
Later, Liew and Blomeyer spoke on shared ideals of conservation of nature and ecotourism, with the minister inviting more Germans to participate in nature tourism and ecotourism projects in Sabah on a joint-venture basis.
"I am a fan of nature. I believe that conservation of nature depends on the communities. If communities can earn some money for this, they will appreciate nature and will regard it as an asset, and so it's actually a win-win situation,” Blomeyer responded.
"The tourists can really see marvellous things, and the communities benefit and nature benefits, too, provided it is soft tourism and not mass tourism."
Impressed with the German Corporation for International Cooperation’s (GIZ) ongoing environmental projects in Malaysia, including one on anti-fish bombing at the Tun Mustapha Marine Park, Liew said she welcomed more such projects in Sabah.
The German Embassy is also funding a small project in Tawau where NGOs have ventured into entrepreneurship through breeding locations for hornbills.
"If we make a corridor to connect these locations, the genetic pool of these birds will be enlarged.
"The NGOs plant fruit trees which the hornbills like. We support this tree-planting project,” said Blomeyer.
He assured that he would promote Sabah's iconic wildlife after learning about the orang utan, Bornean pygmy elephant and proboscis monkey.
From another perspective, he was interested to know how culture is represented here where there are no fewer than 35 ethnic and 130 sub-ethnic groups with many different cultures and languages as well as immigrants who could influence culture in one way or another.
"How do you cope with it, and what is your programme on your idea of representing this diversity so that the people can understand it?,” Blomeyer asked.
Liew said the concept of living in harmony has been in place since pre-World War Two days, so it is a normal thing for Sabah as mutual respect is the key to peaceful coexistence.
She said the differences in these unique cultures are showcased during festivals like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Kaamatan and Christmas, to name a few.
Asked on the possibility of exchange visits and other collaborative programmes, Blomeyer said collaboration is already in place in some fields, for instance, in the environment; however, there was definitely room to intensify these initiatives.
