By Doreen Ling
KUCHING, Feb 27: Those entrusted to look into developing Borneo Highlands into a holiday resort have been told to ‘pull their socks up’ and not come up with excuses.
According to Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, with tourism on the rise, he urged the Sarawak Land Custody and Development Authority (LCDA) to move quickly and expedite the redevelopment of Borneo Highlands.
“Where (else) can you get a resort which is less than one hour away (from the city)? Sarawak does not have a hill resort. If the hill resort is three, four hours away from Kuching, it might be different.
“If it is less than one hour (away), you don’t even need to do too much marketing to outsiders. Kuchingnites can fill up the place because you can see now the purchasing power of those in Kuching,” he said during a press conference before flagging off D’Drift 2025 at DayakDaily’s office here today.
He said although glamping—a mixture of ‘glamorous’ and ‘camping’ for a type of camping that is more comfortable and luxurious than traditional camping—is carried out in Borneo Highlands, he opined that more could be done in the area.
“The ministry supports glamping, but how much can it generate? What about restaurants? What about hotels? Do something. Make it fast; don’t come up with all this (excuse of) ‘the legal case is not over’.
“What legal case? It has gone right up to the highest level—the Federal Court. It has already been determined that we (Sarawak government) won the case,” he said.
In 2023, the Federal Court dismissed an appeal by the previous developer, Borneo Heights Sdn Bhd (BHSB), clearing the way for the Sarawak government to take control of the land and proceed with redevelopment plans.
In 1994, the State government alienated a parcel of land with an area of 2,071 hectares for the development of a holiday resort in Borneo Heights, Padawan. The land was then subdivided into Lots 48, 49, 50, and 51, Block 11 Pangkalan Ampat Land District.
Under the title conditions, the land must be used as a holiday resort and developed in accordance with a plan approved by the Director of Land and surveys and be completed by September 1999.
However, by 2020, the development of the holiday resort had not been completed. — DayakDaily
