SAMARAHAN: Kota Samarahan has the potential to be developed into a “Cyber City” just like the Creative City of Cimahi, in West Java Province, Bandung, Indonesia.
In pointing this out, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri added, “The population of Kota Samarahan consists of university students as well as professionals from the public and private sectors.
“This area can inspire young tourists to expand their knowledge as well as provide them with an unforgettable experience.”
Nancy was speaking at the launching of Serba Dinamik’s Defence of the Ancients (Dota) 2 Season 1 2021 championship at D-Virtual Park here on Sunday (Mar 28).
The minister, who is also the Batang Sadong MP, said there must be continuous commitment from all parties to develop Samarahan as a tourist destination in Malaysia.
“Kota Samarahan has its own attractions. It also has the potential to be listed as one of the Special Tourism Investment Zones based on the niche tourism in digital technology, which fully supports the implementation of the National Tourism Policy (2020 to 2030) or through the Strategic Thrust Three — Tourism Digitisation. which among others, focuses on efforts to integrate the tourism industry with Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0),” she said.
Commenting on E-Sports, Nancy added the organisation of such futuristic sports could attract young tourists from outside the state and country to Kota Samarahan.
“The organisation of this E-Sports based programme also supports the government’s initiatives in the implementation of the National Digital Network (Jendela) to prepare the country for the transition to 5G technology in the future,” she said.
Nancy, who is also the Integrated Regional Samarahan Development Agency (IRSDA) Tourism Committee chairperson, pointed out that it was also her responsibility to ensure the development of new tourism products in Sarawak.
She said among the quick-win tourism project proposals that had been submitted for consideration under IRSDA were the Samarahan Boulevard Project and Taman Tasik Desa Ilmu Project.
“There are many more new projects that have been submitted under IRSDA, and they will be discussed by the authority’s steering committee soon,” she said.
Earlier, Nancy tried the virtual reality facilities at D-Virtual Park before officiating at the launch of the Batang Sadong E-Sports Club (BSES).
Among those present were head of operations at Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd Kuching Branch Muliawadi Imran, Samarahan Resident Ibrahim Lumpu, and Sarawak E-Sports Association president Afiq Fadhli Narawi.
