Sub-District Status Will Further Develop Kiulu As Rural Tourism Destination

KIULU (Sabah, Malaysia) March 7 (Bernama) – There was all round approval when Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman announced the elevation of Kiulu (located 60 kilometres from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah) as sub-district in Tuaran Tuesday, putting in place a foundation for the area to be further developed as a rural tourism attraction and boost its economic potential. Kiulu assemblyman Joniston Bangkuai said the elevation would be a "game changer" for the constituency which recorded a healthy visitor arrival of 54,000 last year – double the number recorded two years earlier – to the area popular for its white-water rafting activity. "By becoming a sub-district, we will have an assistant district office and a government administrative centre that will look into the needs of people from the surrounding areas," he said of the constituency which has over 100 villages. He said the issuance of over 1,000 Native Land titles to residents from four villages within the constituency, Kampung Lokos, Kampung Nulu, Kampung Tiong Ratau and Kampung Tiong Simpodon, would also mean the people would no longer have doubts about the land they lived on for generations, from the time of their forefathers. "The Native Customary Rights Land is considered 'life' for the people here. Many have waited long for these titles to 'extend their lives'. “It’s our life as the sons of the soil and we no longer need to worry or doubt the status of our ownership to the land here,” he said in a ceremony where the chief minister handed over titles to over 1,000 recipients issued under the Sabah Native Land Services programme. -- BERNAMA