Trans-Kalimantan Business Tie-ups Eyed

Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Tun Said greets participants for the Kadazan Dusun Unduk Nagadau Harvest Festival celebration organised by the Kota Kinabalu City Hall in Padang City.

Kota Kinibalu, 08 Sya’ban 1437/16 May 2016 (MINA) – Sabah, Sarawak and Kalimantan are looking at setting up a Borneo Kadazan–Dusun–Murut (KDM) – Dayak Business Alliance to strengthen cooperation in terms of culture, commerce and industry between their local communities.

Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said the idea was mooted following a discussion with the West Kalimantan governor Dr Cornelis M H during a recent official visit to Pontianak, Indonesia.

Ongkili was accompanied by Julau MP Datuk Joseph Salang Gandum, who is also the Sarawak Dayak Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, during his three-day visit to the neighbouring country, Brunei Times was quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

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Noting the similarities between the KDMs in Sabah and Dayaks in Sarawak and Kalimantan, Ongkili said it was good to know that Cornelis also shared a desire for stronger cultural exchange and closer commercial cooperation, especially in the fields of biodiversity, traditional knowledge and ecotourism.

“I believe we will be able to work together closely because of the similarities between the KDMs and Dayaks in Sarawak and Kalimantan,” he said.

“The Dayaks make up the largest of the population in West Kalimantan comprising three million of the total five million, mainly consisting of Ibans and Bidayuhs,” Ongkili, the Kadazan Dusun Cultural Association (KDCA) deputy president, said in his speech delivered when he was officiating the Kaamatan celebration in northern Matunggong.

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During his recent trip, he also extended an invitation to Cornelis, on behalf of the KDCA President Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan, to attend the annual state level Kaamatan Festival finale on May 30 and 31 at the KDCA Hall in Penampang. (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)