Marina Island, the venue for PIMTC '22 and PTE '22 launch
By Laura Lee
With four days to go before the inaugural Pangkor International Marine
Tourism Conference 2022 (PIMTC ‘22) starts, its organiser Perak Tourism
Association (PTA) has announced that the event’s opening ceremony on 9 May evening at Marina Island will also witness the launch of Sail Malaysia Passage to the East (PTE) Yacht
Rally 2022 aimed at promoting Malaysia by sea.
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Seri Dr
Santhara will be gracing the PIMTC ’22 opening ceremony-cum-dinner together
with other dignitaries such as Perak chairman of the committee for housing,
local government and tourism Dato’ Nolee Ashilin Dato’ Mohd Radzi and Cruise
Marine Tourism Association Malaysia president Datuk Wira Syed Abdul Rahman
Al-Habshi.
There will also be souvenir and special award presentations
on that night.
Meanwhile, there has been some more recent changes to the conference’s line-up of speakers. This came about partly due to the postponement of PIMTC dates to 9-10 May from 26-29 March, says PTA coordinator SA Peter.
Apart from the keynote address on 10 May by PIMTC ‘22 advisor Dato’ Seri Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg, the full-day conference on 10 May will now have a total of seven speakers instead of five previously announced.
Conference speakers
Earlier speakers such as Italy-based Super Yacht captain
Azizah Hanim Kamarudin and One15 Marina group general manager Brian Werner have
been replaced by Prakash Reddy and Olivia Ooi.
Prakash, from Indonesia’s Nongsa Point Marina and Resort
marina manager, will speak on marina management and organising boating
activities for marina clubs while Olivia, Desaru Development Holding One Sdn
Bhd general manager (sales and marketing) will update the conference
participants on Desaru coastal development and ferry terminal facilities for
yachts.
From the Marine Department Malaysia, its director for the
northern region, Mohd Hafiz Abdul Majid will be touching on the department’s
roles and responsibilities particularly for leisure vessels. He replaces Marine
Department director-general Dato Baharin Dato’ Abdul Hamid as a speaker.
Meanwhile, Ts Dr Md Redzuan Zoolfakar and Adren Siow have
been added to the speakers’ list. The former, an Associate Professor of
Research & Innovation of Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s Malaysian Institute of
Marine Engineering Technology, will speak on the role of technology in green
leisure vessel design.
Association of Marine Industries of Malaysia honorary
secretary Adren, who is also Samudra Shipyard & Engineering Sdn Bhd
managing director, will delve on the Blue Economy: The multiplier effect of
nautical marine tourism.
The remaining two speakers at PIMTC are Pangkor Marina
operations director James Khoo on Managing cruising yachts in a Malaysian
marina and its impact on local economy while Sail Malaysia founder Sazli Kamal
Basha will touch on the ASEAN cruising agenda: Promoting Malaysia as part of
the bigger picture.
Discovering Malaysia
Since PIMTC ’22 will be the first international event for Perak after Malaysia reopened its borders on 1 April, it is opportune that its participants and rally teams go on a sightseeing day trip on 11 May to visit certain parts of the silver state organised by PTA and the Perak state government.
The next morning, the rally teams will set sail from Pangkor
Marina to other marine hotspots such as Desaru and Tioman in Peninsular
Malaysia and thereafter to East Malaysia.
The rally is expected to arrive at Kuching or Santubong in
Sarawak from 16-22 June, around the time of the three-day Rainforest World
Music Festival from 17-19 June.
It will then proceed to Miri, Labuan, Tiga Island before
arriving in Sabah, stopping over in places such as Kota Kinabalu, Kudat, Turtle
Islands, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tun Sakaran Marine Park before concluding the
rally in Tawau.
