The latest MyEG TV infomercial featuring Sarah Lian as the �Internet Ah Moi� �is creating a quite a buzz locally. Sarah plays the role of a kopitiam owner who also doubles as an �Internet Ah Moi� offering services like road tax processing and bankruptcy claims. The infomercial aims to create awareness on the ease of MyEG that offers online government transaction services.

Sarah took pain to brush up on her “Ah Lian accent” for her role.

“My brief was to play an “Ah Moi from Klang!” I just took that brief and had fun with it!”

The public has responded well to the localized humour in the infomercial that was shot in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur.

So who is this Sarah Lian?

Sarah Lian, born May 12, 1983, is a Malaysian Chinese actress and television personality based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She was born in Taiping, Perak Malaysia but mainly grew up in Vancouver, Canada.

A sultry Sarah Lian

Of Chinese heritage; both parents being Malaysian Chinese, Lian is the third of four children in her family. Living in a multilingual country and moving abroad, it is no surprise that she speaks a variety of languages. While proficient in English, Lian also speaks Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, Malay, French and a smattering of Japanese.

Lian is an actor versatile in film, television and theatre. While finishing her degree in Toronto, Lian earned her first credit in the American Pie film franchise, American Pie Presents: Beta House featured as the “Hot Asian Girl”. Her scene did not make the final cut upon the film’s release in December 2007.

The bubbly Sarah

Moving to Hong Kong to pursue acting further, she landed a suporting role in Jasmine, a psychological thriller written and directed by Hollywood screenwriter Dax Phelan.

In 2008, Lian moved to Malaysia and began working closely with Media Prima’s online portal gua.com.my for their event-based show, Randommania.

The program gave Lian the opportunity to interview various personalities from local artiste Maya Karin, Fasha Sandha and Ning Baizura to international musicians such as Shayne Ward, The D.E.Y. and Machi.

Vivacious Sarah Lian� (photo credit to http://www.gua.com.my)

As she became closely associated with GuaTV; this entertainment program escalated Lian as a recognisable face in the media world, also making her known as one of Gua’s Homegrown Hotties!

At the same time, she was also enlisted as the host and writer for NTV7′s informative program NUVO.

Just a few months after coming back to Malaysia, Lian gained fame when she was voted FHM Malaysia’s #1 Most Wanted Woman on their Top 100 list. Since then, she has been visible in a variety of magazines such as Stuff, Clive, Malaysian College, OK!, Hot, Sisters, New Tide and Men’s Health Malaysia.

Sarah has also hosted local reality programs like The Ultimate Prom Nite 2 and Maybelline�s Simply Fabulous.

She is currently co-hosting MyEG Xtra Time on the ESPN channel, with personalities Marion Counter, Lisa Surihani and others. The program talks about entertainment-styled sports gossip.

Lian has managed to leave her imprint on the local celebrity scene. The vivacious and bubbly Lian has established a great reputation as a reliable host for hyping up crowds and commanding their attention with her sultry image and entertaining sense of humour.

So if you think that you’ve seen Sarah Lian, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

World No. 1 Nicol David chalked up her eight consecutive Women�s International Squash Players Association (Wispa) title when she defeated third seed Rachael Grinham of Australia in straights sets in the final of the Torneo International Bicentenario Mexico Open 2010 in Mexico on Sunday.

Torneo International Bicentenario Mexico Open 2010

The five-time world champion won 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 in 35 minutes. In her first appearance in the tournament, the 27-year-old Malaysian also won the three other matches without dropping a set.

�It was important to win the first set as I know how dangerous Rachael can be. I just had to keep getting her shots back,� Nicol.

�I am happy to win in straight sets. It has been great to have so many Mexican fans here, and I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the event as it is fantastic � the setting, the crowds and everything.�

Grinham said: �Nicol has proved that she is the best in the world. So all you can do is to try and make her work as hard as possible to beat you.�

Nicol David at the opening proceedings of the tournament on the Manata All Glass Court in Mexico

If you want an in-depth coverage of the tournament, please go here.

With the win, Nicol now has won a total of 49th Wispa titles since turning pro in 2000.

The Penangite, who has been the world No. 1 since August in 2006, started the year by bagging the Chennai Open in March.

Nicol, whose best achievement on the Wispa circuit was winning all 10 tournaments she competed in 2008, went on to win the KL Open (March), Cayman Islands Open (April), Malaysian Open (July), Singapore Masters (July), Hong Kong Open (August) and World Open (September).

Nicol, who also won gold in the recent Delhi Commonwealth Games, will feature in the Qatar Classics next month (Nov 5-12) before she heads for Guangzhou to defend the Asian Games title (Nov 18-25).

Nicol has once again proven that she is a sports person without parallel in Malaysia. Congratulations, Nicol!

Nicol David, the highest profile woman squash player of all time, finally nailed elusive Commonwealth Games squash singles gold medal when she defeated Jenny Duncalf 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 in the final at the Siri Fort Sports Complex yesterday.

An euphoric Nicol David with her Commonwealth gold medal

With a very vocal crowd cheering her on, the Malaysian added the only major title missing from her kitty in her fourth Commonwealth attempt. She was only 15 when she competed in squash�s maiden appearance in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998. She competed in all three previous squash competitions at the Commonwealth Games, but her best finish before Friday’s gold was a fourth-place effort at Melbourne in 2006.

Yesterday though, there was no stopping the Malaysian icon as she romped home to the gold medal in 35 minutes.

Second-seeded Duncalf simply had no answer to the world No. 1�s power play. Even when she did put Nicol under pressure, the world champion just rode it out and cruised to an easy win � just as she has done all week.

Nicol, who was relieved to finally get her hands on the elusive gold medal, said it was one of her most cherished moments.

�It was not easy as Jenny pushed hard. But I was focused and I have been playing well the whole week,� she said.

�This is one tournament that I realy wanted to win. When I had the final ball in my hand, the only thought was to keep the rally going to get the winning point.

World number one David’s feat was all the more significant as she triumphed without dropping a game, just as she did in last month’s World Open in Egypt.

“I’m so excited right now – it’s just so wonderful. Jenny didn’t play her best today – but I had to take my opportunities. A Commonwealth Games gold medal is one of my highest achievements so far. The fact that it’s in a multi-sport event, which means so much for Malaysia, makes it even more important for me,” said the 27-year-old from Penang.

David had won a record-equalling fifth world title only two weeks ago and recently celebrated her 54th month as world number one.

There was rarely much doubt that she would beat the world number two from England, who beat David twice late last year but has been unable to repeat the feat in 2010.

The favourite was off to a great start, striking the ball accurately and consistently, gradually developed her capacity to score in the front court with drops and volley drops, and was only challenged in the third game when Duncalf hung in as hard as she could.

But David remained calm as her moment approached, finishing it with a penalty point after pressuring her opponent into hitting the ball back too close to her own body.

As soon as that happened she expressed her feelings by picking up the ball again and ramming it as hard as she could against the front wall.

“It’s a great relief,” admitted the five-time World Open champion.

“I have learnt so much since last time, and here I was able to put some of it to use. It’s a wonderful feeling.”

She celebrated by putting the racket to her forehead, embracing the Malaysian team and then mopping her brow as she sat down. She arose again to encircle the court draped in the Malaysian flag.

Nicol David celebrating with the Malaysia flag

The relief was all the greater given that her 2006 setback had brought criticism which contributed to her exile at the squash-boom city of Amsterdam where Liz Irving, the Australian coach is based.

The decision has been followed by unprecedented success, and now by winning the Commonwealth title without dropping a game.

Well done, Nicol! You are truly Malaysia’s pride and the country’s� most outstanding sportswoman ever!

World ranking number one Malaysian squash superstar Datuk Nicol Ann David equalled the record of five World Open titles held by Australia’s Sarah Fitz-Gerald when she completed one of the most devastating spells of her career by beating Egypt’s Omneya Abdel Kawy in Wednesday’s final in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Nicol in the final against Omneya Abdel Kawy

David crushed home hopes with an 11-5 11-8 11-6 victory over Egyptian fourth seed Omneya Abdel Kawy in Wednesday’s final.

David continued the form she has shown throughout the tournament, looking supremely calm and confident, stroking the ball to all four corners and accelerating when necessary.

Abdel Kawy, the first Egyptian ever to reach the world final, was unable to get a foothold in the match until the second game, which she led 3-0 and 6-3. It took only just over half an hour for David to win 11-5, 11-8 11-6 against the Egyptian, and there was only one brief phase in the middle of the match when the outcome seemed in doubt.

That was when Kawy’s great racket skills helped her carve out a 7-4 second game lead, but David was unruffled, and stepped up the pace to take the game.

She did that by combining patient and high-paced rallying with well-chosen moments to make attacking ploys, most often with an accurate or clinging drop shot followed by a testing drive to the back.

The home crowd tried to lift Kawy as they returned for the third game, but the match had already taken its decisive twist.

David was soon 3-1 up and then 7-2 with Kawy enduring the added frustration of a bad bounce near the backhand back corner, causing her to bang the ball into the court in annoyance.

This was though a good-tempered match, and a revealing one: David, who looked as though she had a couple of challengers breathing down her neck a year ago, now looks far ahead of the field.

“My focus was strong throughout the tournament,” said David after the successful defence of the title in which she did not drop a single game.

“I really wanted this. I didn’t want to let it slip.

“It’s amazing that I can do something that Sarah has done, because she’s such a great player,” David said of the champion, who is now an important sparring partner.

“She’s helped me so much and – with my coach Liz (Irving) she’s been instrumental in what I have done.

Earlier this month, Nicol David entered her 50th successive month atop the world rankings. She won the British Open title in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as the World Open title in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Nicole David in action

Nicol is the first squash player to have won the World Junior title twice; in 1999 and 2001 under the tutelage of Richard Glanfield. She remained the only female squash player to have achieved this, until Raneem El Weleily emulated Nicol’s feat by winning her second World Junior Championship in 2007.

Nicol David in action

Nicol joined Women�s International Squash Players Association (WISPA) and turned professional in 2000 when she won her first WISPA title, after only a month in the tour. The victory came in February, when she defeated Salma Shabana in the final of the Savcor Finnish Open.

On June 7, 2008, Nicol David was honoured with the Order of Merit (Darjah Bakti) or D.B. in conjunction with the birthday of the His Majesty Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin. She was the first recipient of the award which was established on June 26, 1975. The award is limited to 10 recipients who have made significant contributions in the arts, sciences and the humanities.

Nicol was also invited to carry the Olympic torch for Malaysia during the build up to the Athens Olympics in 2004 and was appointed UNDP National Goodwill Ambassador for Malaysia.

Nicol David’s other notable achievements include the Asian Squash Championship, which she won with a record of seven times (in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010). She also held a 13-month, 51-match winning streak, from March 2006 until April 2007, when she finally lost to Natalie Grinham in the final of the 2007 Seoul Open. Nicol has also obtained the WISPA� Player of the Year on five consecutive occasions, from 2005 until 2009.

On July 12, 2008, Nicol was among 497 people honoured in conjunction with the 70th birthday of the Penang State Governor Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. Nicol was also one of the 28 people who received the Darjah Setia Pangkuan Negeri award (DSPN), which carries the title Datuk, making her the youngest person ever to be conferred Datukship in Penang.

Nicol with her DSPN award which carries the title Datuk

Nicol is the daughter of Ann Marie David, a retired Malaysian Chinese school teacher, and Desmond David, a Malaysian Indian engineer, who is also a former state athlete and footballer. She has two sisters, Lianne and Cheryl, both of whom are accomplished squash players at the national level. As a youngster, mathematics was Nicol’s best subject at school; she dreamed of one day becoming an engineer. Nicol scored seven A’s for her Penilaian Menengah Rendah and obtained seven A’s in her Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (the equivalent to GCSE), which she studied at Convent Green Lane Secondary School in Green Lane, Penang.

Nicol's parents

David, now the winner of 48 WISPA World Tour titles from 63 finals, will now fly to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games as overwhelming favourite to capture the only significant title missing from her collection.

Malaysia salutes you, Datuk Nicol. Thank you for being such an inspiration and the embodiment of the Malaysia Boleh concept. Congratulations, Datuk!

A routine early morning raid by a police team at an entertainment outlet in Penang generated quite a lot of excitement when one of the revellers turned out to be Malaysian mystery man Jho Low.

Jho Low...photo from The Star

Jho was attending a gathering with friends from Penang, Singapore and Germany at the outlet in Upper Penang Road.He was not hauled up nor detained during the routine operation in which bona fide customers were not affected.

Members of the press rushed to talk to Low as he walked to his car at about 5.30am and he politely answered their questions.

He said he arrived in Penang on Saturday morning and was to have left for Singapore yesterday before heading to the Middle East.

�My friends asked me out for a gathering as we have not seen each other for a while.�

During the operation Ops Bersepadu, the police screened 800 revellers and took 101 of them to the police station for urine tests, resulting in five men and six women tested positive for drugs. One man was arrested under Section 147 for rioting. Fourteen underaged patrons were also picked up.

The above story is a hot news item on the Malaysian English daily The Star.

In an interview with a local media, Jho said that a major Hollywood movie is scheduled to be filmed in the country within the next 12 months. He said celebrities like Jamie Foxx and Bruce Willis are also contemplating to come here to promote the country as a choice tourist destination.

He would be bringing a Hollywood celebrity friend to Malaysia next month.

�Not Paris Hilton. It�s a male.You will know when he is here,� he said.

Malaysians celebrate Malaysia Day or Hari Malaysia today. On this day in 1963, the formation of Malaysia which consisted of the Federation of Malaya, Sarawak, Sabah and Singapore was formally promulgated.

Malaysian flag...Jalur Gemilang (Malay for "Stripes of Glory")

47 years after its formation, Malaysia is officially celebrating its creation for the first time by declaring the day a public holiday. What took the government so long to recognise the country�s very formation? It was on October 19, 2009 that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak officially declared that September 16 would be a public holiday commencing from 2010.

Malaysia Day would be celebrated with events that would foster closer unity, understanding between the different races and community success and achievement through sports, social culture and arts, to spur the 1Malaysia spirit.

This is the real �birthday� of Malaysia, but� it has been a long time coming.

To all my fellow Malaysians, Happy Malaysia Day!

Today is Hari Kebangsaan or Hari Merdeka (Independence Day). It is the national day of Malaysia commemorating the independence of the Federation of Malaya from British colonial rule. In a wider context, it is to celebrate the formation of Malaysia.

Hari Merdekaan 2010

The effort for independence was spearheaded by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, who led a delegation of ministers and political leaders of Malaya in negotiations with the British in London for Merdeka, or independence along with the first president of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) Tun Dato Sir Tan Cheng Lock and fifth President of Malaysian Indian Congress Tun V.T. Sambanthan. Once it became increasingly clear that the Communist threat posed during the Malayan Emergency was petering out, agreement was reached on February 8, 1956, for Malaya to gain independence from the British Empire. However, for a number of logistical and administrative reasons, it was decided that the official proclamation of independence would only be made the next year, on August 31, 1957, at Stadium Merdeka (Independence Stadium), in Kuala Lumpur.

This YouTube video is the proclamation of independence by Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, the first prime minister of Malaysia.

The Federation of Malaysia, comprising the States of Malaya, North Borneo (later renamed Sabah), Sarawak and Singapore was to be officially declared on the date August 31, 1963, on the 6th anniversary of Malayan independence. However, it was postponed to September 16, 1963, mainly due to Indonesian and the Philippines’ opposition to the formation of Malaysia. Nevertheless, North Borneo and Singapore declared sovereignty on August 31, 1963. Indonesian opposition later escalated to a military conflict. Indonesia considered Malaysia as a new form of colonization on the provinces of Sarawak and Sabah in the island of Borneo (bordering Kalimantan, Indonesia), which they laid claim on. To assure Indonesia that Malaysia was not a form of neo-colonialism, a referendum, organized by the United Nations, and the Cobbold Commission, led by Lord Cobbold, were formed to determine whether the people of Sabah and Sarawak wished to join Malaysia. Their eventual findings which indicated substantial support for Malaysia among the peoples of Sabah and Sarawak, cleared the way for the final proclamation of Malaysia.

The formation of the Federation of Malaysia was then announced on September 16, 1963 as Malaysia Day. The nationwide Independence Day celebration is still held on August 31, the original independence date of Malaya, while Malaysia Day is a public holiday only in East Malaysia. However, this has caused some minor discontent among East Malaysians in particular since it has been argued that celebrating the national day on August 31 is too Malaya-centric. It is decided that starting this year, Malaysia Day will be a nationwide public holiday in addition to Hari Merdeka on August 31.

The above is from Wikipedia.

To all Malaysians, I wish you a very happy Hari Kebangsaan. May �Malaysia be blessed with peace, racial harmony, religious tolerance, prosperity and unity! God bless Malaysia!

International Man of Mystery Low Taek Jho, who parties with Hollywood celebrities and is now Malaysia�s most famous socialite, has aroused so much worldwide curiosity that there has been a lot of online searches about him.� He recently granted an exclusive interview to The Star, the leading English daily in Malaysia, to shed some light into his background, his life, his career and a whole range of other points.

The Star...The People's Paper

Jho Low, aged 28, was born in Penang where he lived till he was 16. At 16, his parents sent him to Harrow School in England. He is the third and youngest child in the family of Datuk Larry Low, the founder of the engineering company MWE. He can speak English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Hokkien, Teo Chew and Basic Arabic.

Low attributed his success to being in the right place at the right time and going to the right schools � Harrow School in England (A-Levels) and The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, in the United States (Bachelor of Science in Economics majoring in Finance). Harrow had lots of children of prominent European, Asian and Middle Eastern families, enabling him to build the core foundation of contacts for the future. At Wharton, he expanded his network , further cementing his relationships with Arab royalty and well-connected Middle East friends especially those from Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia.

Harrow School

Wharton School of Business

Jho Low made his first million � in US dollars � when he was barely 20 years old when he took a semester off from The Wharton School of Business to set up an investment fund called The Wynton Group with US$25mil from family and nine South-East Asian and Middle Eastern friends. The company started out by dealing mainly in portfolio investments around the world. It later moved from just buying and selling public shares to private equity. The company, in which he owns a stake, now has offices in Malaysia, Singapore and headquarters in British Virgin Island and is now worth in excess of US$1bil.

Wynton is planning to launch a new US$1 billion real estate and hospitality fund sometime in October, mainly for investing in real estate, hotels and hospitality projects around the world.

A US$250 million entertainment fund is also in the pipeline because Wynton believes there is some synergy between real estate and entertainment. This fund covers the whole spectrum from fashion to movies and so forth. Shooting Hollywood movies in Malaysia is a vital part of Jho Low�s plans to help attract investments to the country. He has been trying to convince his Hollywood friends like Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Leonardo di Caprio to use Malaysia as a location for movies.

The third fund will be a US$250 million general fund.

All these fund sizes are the initial first phase equity commitment that the company is securing which means that actual fund sizes and purchasing power could be much larger. An equity of US$1 billion could have a potential purchasing power in excess of US$2 billion or more after leverage. The new headquarters will be a 20,000sq ft office in Sowwah Island in Abu Dhabi.

An impression of Sowwah Island

Jho Low was appointed to the board of UBG Bhd as group adviser and non-independent & non-executive director in 2008. He is also group adviser to several international corporations involved in global private equity, M&A and buyouts.

He lives a globe-trotting life covering Los Angeles, New York, London, St Tropez, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur. He parties with Paris Hilton, Megan Fox, Jamie Foxx, Lindsay Lohan and Usher but claims that news reports about the parties are exaggerated. His Arab childhood friends and investors are actually the spenders, not him. He is the person who calls to make the reservations on behalf of his Arab friends and investors.� His name is thus all over the place, putting him under the global spotlight.

On that particular occasion when the New York Post ran the article about him and his lavish spending, it was in reference to a party that was thrown for a friend�s engagement. He was just helping to coordinate the party arrangements as usual. Even his lavish 28^th birthday party in Las Vegas was a surprise party thrown by a group of his close friends.

He is not going out with Paris Hilton but they have been to several parties together because he is a friend of her parents, Rick and Kathy Hilton. Things had been blown out of proportions by the media according to Jho Low.

Low vehemently dismissed talk that he was �wasting a lot of money partying�.

�For me, we all work very hard. Of course, we have a disadvantage where at our age, people may perceive it differently. At the end of the day, I handle the investors� money prudently. I generate returns for them.

�I am not an excessive person. Excessiveness with alcohol is just not me.�

On the home front, Jho Low dispelled talk that he is involved in the controversial redevelopment of the TUDM Sungai Besi airbase. He denied the allegations that he had received a RM500 million contract for the project. He stressed that he has no involvement whatsoever.

Jho Low thinks Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had great vision when he was Prime Minister with big spending in Malaysian infrastructure which resulted in Malaysian-based construction companies becoming leaders in the global construction arena. Many Malaysian companies are now doing sophisticated construction work in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and all over the Middle East.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

He talked about his superstar friend � Usher � who wants to help him start a charity programme for children here to learn the business part of the entertainment industry. He has known Usher for a long time. He met Usher in New York when he was working with Usher on Usher�s New Look Foundation, a charity assisting children who want careers in the business side of the entertainment industry. He mentored these kids, advising them on writing business plans.

Usher

Usher's New Look Foundation

With this interview by The Star, we get a glimpse into the life of this international man of mystery and Jho Low achieved his objective of de-mystifying himself. No more “Jho Who?”. He is Low, Jho Low….licensed to kill invest your money.� May the force be with Jho!

Malaysia, truly Asia. This little phrase is Tourism Malaysia�s slogan. Over the past many years, we have all been bombarded with this slogan from Tourism Malaysia�s billboard, radio and TV ad to the point that some people are finding it annoying. And in the past two years or so, we have been bombarded by the 1Malaysia campaign. Malaysians are a funny lot. I propose another slogan for Malaysia. 1FunnyMalaysia, truly Lat Lah!

1Funny Malaysia

Malaysia's most popular cartoon character Lat

See how funny Malaysians can be!

Malaysian Starbucks

Who in the right mind would want to press the durians?

A Malaysian balancing act

A giant Malaysian bumblebee

The Malaysian government's drive to encourage reading is so successful that Malaysian dogs also know how to read!

Malaysian higher education?

The advantage of being a male in Malaysia!

Malaysian shopper

Another Malaysian shopper

Shopping Malaysian style

A rich Malaysian telling the whole world about his wealth

A no-signboard coffeeshop in Malaysia

A stool for males

Malaysian helmet

Two Wong Fei Hong visit Malaysia

Malaysia, truly Lat!

The 2010 Borneo International Yachting Challenge (BIYC) began in Miri, Sarawak on the 24th of this month with 51 yachts �from 14 countries taking part. There are 20 entries from Australia, 6 from UK, 5 from Malaysia, 5 from New Zealand, 4 from USA, 2 from Germany, 2 from France and 1 each from Singapore, Grenadines, Vanuatu, British Virgin Island, Netherlands, Canada and Sweden.

BIYC 2010 Logo

This annual event, now in its 7th year, takes a fleet of international yachts from Miri to Labuan – a distance of 105 miles, and then from Labuan to Kota Kinabalu (Sabah) which is another 65 miles. The regatta finishes in Kota Kinabalu with two races around the Tunku Abdul Rahman national Marine Park on Friday the 30th July, followed by a lavish prize giving dinner at Sutera Harbour Marina Club hosted by Sabah Tourism.

The regatta is a joint effort between the Ministry Of Tourism And Heritage Sarawak, Labuan Corporation, and the Sabah Tourism Board. Other sponsors include Sutera Harbour Resort, Samling Global, Pelita and Park City Everly Hotel in Miri.

Sarawak�s Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan flagged off the contestants at Marina Bay in Miri. Sarawk�s Assistant Minister of Social Development & Urbanisation Datuk Lee Kin Shin, BYIC Miri Working Committee chairman Troy Yaw and Miri mayor Lawrence Lai were also present at the flag-off.

Marina Bay Miri

This year�s fleet has set a new record for the event. It will also make the regatta one of the largest of its kind in South East Asia. One of the reasons for this dramatic increase in numbers is due to collaboration between the BIYC and the Sail Malaysia Rally � Passage to the East.

BIYC committee member Simon Farmer, who was instrumental in forging this partnership with the organizers of Sail Malaysia, said that given the current state of the global economy and the ever shrinking sponsorship dollar it made sense to combine the two events. He said the number of entries this year proved that this had been a popular strategy.

The Chairman of Sabah Tourism Board and co-chairman of the regatta, Dato Seri Tengku Zainal Adlin expressed his delight with the number of yachts taking part this year and said that Sabah is on target to achieving its goal in becoming the Caribbean of the East.

He said that �events such as this are putting Borneo and Kota Kinabalu on the map, and are the perfect vehicle for showcasing the state and its bio-diversity�.

Adlin commented further that over the past 12 months Sutera Harbour Marina and Kota Kinabalu had hosted at least 10 mega yachts of over thirty meters with a combined value of over US$350 million dollars. Among these visitors was the world�s largest privately owned sailing yacht, the 92 meter �Eos� valued in excess of US$150 million.

Sutera Harbour Marina in Kota Kinabalu

�The fact that more and more of these types of yachts are visiting our shores means that the message is getting through to yacht owners and captains that Sabah and Borneo have as much to offer, if not more than the other major destinations around the world. These types of visitors provide a tremendous boost to the local economy and to the global perception of Sabah�, remarked Adlin

Tengku Adlin will take part in the regatta once again this year sailing aboard Farmers yacht in the final two races off Kota Kinabalu. This will be a little different from last year when he crewed on the 120� luxury sailing yacht �Naos� and was treated to a gourmet lunch. Farmer warned Adlin not to expect the same this year as the boat he is sailing on is a stripped out racing yacht with only the bare essentials. Adlin replied that he was ready for the challenge.