Barbie Almalbis at the ‘Tara Na Sa Malaysia’ launch (Ed Ramos)
With Barbie Almalbis and her band gracing both the main stage and the booth stage at the Philippine Travel Agencies Association Expo recently, along with an entertaining demo of the traditional “the tarik” (meaning pulled tea), the Malaysian Tourism Board kicked off their brand new campaign skewed to attract Filipino travelers to their beautiful country.
KBRB president C Thevedran with Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Dato Mohd Samro Bin Mohd Kassim at the Malaysian Embassy (Ed Ramos)
Billed “Tara Na Sa Malaysia,” the new holiday packages aim to attract more visitors this year, including its Filipino neighbors, to the bubbling, energetic cultural melting pot that is home to amazing events and festivals, as well as exciting activities all year round in line with their theme of “Celebrating 1Malaysia Truly Asia.”
Just last month, the biggest stars of the sporting world descended upon Malaysia when it played host to this year’s prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards, touted as the Oscars of sports. Nominees and the winners were on hand to receive their awards, including race driver and four-time straight Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel as Sportsman of the Year, and six-time gold medalist in a single World Championships, swimmer Missy Franklin.
The event was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who also stayed a few more days to grace the 2014 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix. The actor was also the surprise interviewer at the podium, speaking with first placer Lewis Hamilton and the other Grand Prix winners.
As if that weren’t exciting enough, Malaysia’s “Tara Na Sa Malaysia” highlights the following destinations: the bustling city capital Kuala Lumpur; the “Intelligent Garden City” of Putrajaya; UNESCO World Heritage City, Malacca; the country’s southern gateway, Johor; top destination and home to one of the world’s longest bridges, Penang; home to the iconic Mount Kinabalu and one of the world’s best diving destinations, Sabah; and UNESCO Global Geopark and part of a 99-island archipelago, Lankawi.
Mr. Suliman Bin P.K.S. Hamed doing an entertaining ‘teh tarik’ (pulled tea) demonstration to upbeat music (Ed Ramos)
Also in March, the Embassy of Malaysia’s tourism office also invited a handful of journalists to meet the members of the 1 Malaysian Peace World Cycling Tour KBRB. The cycling tour promotes a world peace to ASEAN countries through a cycling program supported by Tourism Malaysia. Aside from visiting Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia and Singapore, among others, the cycling tour was also held here in the Philippines with a group of Filipino cyclists – a 100 kilometer ride from Mount Taal in Tagaytay to the Malaysian Embassy office in Makati.
Met at the embassy by Malaysia’s Senior Assistant Director of tourism, Mr. Mohd Akbal Setia, and Malaysia’s Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Dato Mohd Samro Bin Mohd Kassim, the group of cyclists shared a hearty lunch followed by a simple certificate distribution ceremony.
KBRB president C Thevedran told Bulletin Entertainment, “We are looking for a peaceful relationship between Malaysia and the Philippines.” He added, “I would like to thank our embassy for bringing us (here) to promote this program. We would like to invite the (people of) the Philippines for Visit Malaysia 2014.”
A first time for the group to hold a cycling tour in the Philippines, they eventually hope to gather all the cyclists in the region “to take a part of the 1 Malaysian Peace World Cycling tour in Malaysia,” he said, noting they hope to hold it in 2017.