KOTA KINABALU – Sabah aims to vaccinate at least 60% of its population by October so that businesses, especially the tourism sector, can reopen.
“We want to keep the momentum going to ensure the people get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Md Noor said after a meeting with Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) committee led by its president Datuk K.L Tan at his office at the state Administrative Centre (PPNS) near here today.
So far, just over 600,000 of the 3.9 million people in Sabah have been inoculated, and the state hopes to reach 70% of its population immunised by year-end.
It is understood that Sabah is also facing a shortage of vaccine doses with around 10,000 to 11,000 jabs administered a day.
Hajiji assured that the tourism industry will be restored under the state’s recovery plan.
Under the Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0, the government had allocated RM2.88 million through its Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry for distribution to affected tour guides, dive masters, mountain guides, porters, hoteliers and homestay operators.
He disclosed he will be meeting mountain guides soon to present assistance to them and to witness the vaccination programme for tourism operators in Kundasang, Ranau.
Sabah’s tourism industry is one of the major contributors to its economy, and is a sector which employs mostly locals. – The Vibes, July 6, 2021
