By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, Aug 30: Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to collaborate on the first economic and legacy impact study in Malaysia.
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said the first study on economic impact, led by Prof Dr Rossazana, the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business at UNIMAS, will develop a comprehensive economic framework for business events that records and reports crucial data such as visitor arrivals and revenue generation.
Meanwhile, the second study on legacy impact, headed by Prof Dr Lo May Chiun from UNIMAS, will analyse the wider impact of conferences and exhibitions, such as community development, social responsibility, policy influence, and investment opportunities.
He further noted that the study coincides with the development of Malaysia’s first state-of-the-art dashboard system to monitor, validate, report, and capture the impact and legacies of business events held in Sarawak.
“The dashboard allows business event planners to track their impact and provide a holistic picture of their contributions to Sarawak.
“We plan to launch the legacy impact dashboard by the first quarter of 2025,” he said during the MOA signing ceremony held at Baitul Makmur II in Petra Jaya here today.
Abdul Karim also mentioned that the Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg announced last year his intention to establish Sarawak as the first legacy capital for business events in Malaysia and Borneo.
“Achieving this requires ensuring that everything we do relates to the Legacy Impact Master Action Plan from 2023 to 2025.
“We are in the second year of the action plan, and this stage is about measuring and verifying event legacies.
“With the research and findings from UNIMAS, we are going to improve our legacy measurements and be ready for the reporting and communication phase through the dashboard next year,” he added.
Meanwhile, BESarawak chairman Dato Sri Abang Abdul Karim Tun Openg echoed the Minister’s message.
“By next year, Sarawak is going to deliver its promise that when you host your business events in Sarawak, you are not just choosing a destination—you are choosing to make a change that can be successfully implemented and measured.
“UNIMAS has been an excellent legacy research partner, and we hope to launch the legacy measurement dashboard by the first quarter of 2025,” he stated.
Also present were Deputy Minister of Tourism Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, MTCP deputy permanent secretary Desmond Douglas Jerukan, BESarawak chief executive officer Amelia Roziman and UNIMAS vice chancellor Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit. — DayakDaily
