Convention centres will now report to MTCP, says minister

KUCHING (Aug 30): Convention centres across Sarawak will now be under the purview of the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP), said its minister, Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

The decision was made during a Cabinet meeting last week, he said.

“I wish to inform that during the last Cabinet meeting last week, the Cabinet has agreed that the convention centres will be reporting to this ministry.

“Because presently, they are not reporting to any ministry. But the Premier has asked for them to be reporting to the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts,” he told a press conference during the exchange of memorandum of understanding (MoA) between Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) and Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) at Baitulmakmur Building II in Petra Jaya here today.

Earlier when asked about the expansion of the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK), also known as BCCK 2, Abdul Karim confirmed that the project is progressing.

“The contractors have been identified, and we are expediting the project to ensure its completion before 2028. As for the project’s cost, I don’t have those details at hand.

“However, this development is crucial for business events, as it will provide a venue capable of hosting larger conferences,” he said.

Elaborating further, Abdul Karim said that currently, Sarawak can only accommodate conferences with fewer than 5,000 delegates.

“The largest conferences that we can attract are those catering to below 5,000 delegates. For anything larger, it’s not feasible because we lack the necessary facilities.

“However, once these new facilities are in place, they can target conferences with up to 10,000 delegates.

“Here in Sarawak, we have a strong team that has been actively marketing the state worldwide, and we want to ensure we have the facilities to support their efforts,” he added.

Also present were MTCP Deputy Minister Datuk Sebastian Ting, MTCP deputy permanent secretary Desmond Douglas Jerukan, BESarawak chairman Dato Sri Abang Abdul Karim Tun Datuk Abang Openg; BESarawak CEO Amelia Roziman; Unimas vice chancellor Prof Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit and senior director of its research, innovation and enterprise centre Prof Dr Lo May Chiun.