Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Haji Noor (centre) together with MATTA President Datuk K L Tan (third left) and MATTA members after the courtesy call.
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Hajiji Haji Noor saidachieving at least 60 percent vaccination of the population by October will allow many of Sabah’s businesses and service sectors to reopen including tourism, which has been badly hit by the pandemic.
He reiterated his call for the Federal Government to speed up the supply of 600,000 doses this month and 1.2 million by next month to Sabah.
“We want to keep the momentum to ensure the people get vaccinated as quickly as possible,” he said when meeting the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) committee led by its President Datuk K.L Tan at his office at the State Administrative Centre near here Tuesday.
On MATTA’s proposals on reviving Sabah’s post-Covid-19 tourism industry, Hajiji assured he will see to it that the tourism industry in Sabah will pick up through a comprehensive tourism recovery plan.
He said under the Bantuan Sabah Prihatin (BSP) 3.0, the government had allocated RM2.88 million through the Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry for distribution to impacted tour guides, dive masters, mountain guides, porters, hoteliers and homestay operators.
The Chief Minister disclosed he will be meeting mountain guides soon to present assistance to them and to witness the vaccination programme for tourism operators in Kundasang.
On Monday, Hajiji urged the Federal Government to speed up delivery of the Covid-19 vaccines to Sabah.