KOTA KINABALU, June 7 ― The Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry will launch a hotline for tourists who encounter issues with their travels in the state, especially those involving homestay scammers, its minister Datuk Christina Liew said.

Liew said the hotline would operate under the Sabah Tourism Board (STB). Through this service, STB can promptly address tourist concerns by dispatching personnel to investigate reported matters.

"These kind of activities (homestay scammers) are affecting us, such cases would be referred to STB. In the past, we have to wait for the police, but now we are going to set up a hotline in STB itself. We will have officers to manage the hotline and to manage crisis or (untoward) events.

"Any issues encountered by tourists in Sabah can be reported to this hotline, and we will promptly deploy personnel to investigate,” she told a press conference held here Thursday in conjunction with the International Women’s Conference (IWC).

Liew was commenting on the activities of homestay scammers who openly advertise their services on social media platforms such as Facebook with Sabah police also issuing reminders to the public regarding these scammers.

The International Women’s Conference 2024, which will take place on August 14 and 15 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC), aims at cultivating networking amongst women, apart from generating participation from foreign countries.

The event organised by the Sabah Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals Association (SWEPA), will be bringing 500 women and male entrepreneurs, professionals, government officials, and management leaders from USA, India, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Taiwan as well as national travellers from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Malacca and Sarawak.

Liew encouraged more Malaysian women in Sabah to attend the conference for knowledge exposure, personal enhancement and professionalism towards achieving women’s empowerment.

"The theme of the conference, ‘Empowering Women Leaders, Breaking Barriers, Shaping the Future’, is most apt and captures the essence of SWEPA’s mission to bring women to the forefront of economic development.

"I understand that this conference is not just an event; it is a movement towards creating a more inclusive and equitable future for all.

"By bringing together 500 women and male entrepreneurs, professionals, government officials, and management leaders, we are fostering an environment where ideas can flourish, partnerships can be forged, and leaders can emerge,” she said.

During her speech, Liew reflected on the state of women leadership globally and compare it to the situation in Sabah.

Globally, Liew said, the world has seen remarkable progress in women’s leadership. Women are leading nations, heading multinational corporations, and driving significant social change.

"Figures like New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern and Germany’s Angela Merkel have shown us the profound impact of having women in top leadership positions. They bring a unique perspective, emphasise empathy and inclusiveness, and are often more collaborative in their approach.

"However, despite these successes, women globally still face significant barriers. According to the World Bank’s 2022 data, women face inferior income opportunities compared with men.

"Women are less likely to work for income or actively seek work, with the global labour force participation rate for women just over 50 per cent compared to 80 per cent for men.

"Unfortunately, this percentage has remained stagnant since 1990. Women are less likely to work in formal employment and have fewer opportunities for business expansion or career progression. When women do work, they earn less. Emerging evidence from recent household survey data suggests that these gender gaps have been heightened due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

Liew added that there is critically low political representation of women in Malaysia.

As a woman, a politician and a State minister, Liew said she had always been an advocate of women’s rights and access to equal opportunities and resources, progress and career advancement in all professions, including the political arena.

"Based on figures, in the 2020 Sabah state election, only nine per cent or 43 women contested out of the 447 candidates.

"Sadly, the current Sabah State Legislative Assembly has only eight per cent or seven assemblywomen out of 79 elected representatives.

"At the Federal level, only three out of 25 Sabah Members of Parliament are women. These numbers are not just statistics as they represent a glaring gap in the representation of women in our political decision-making processes that we must confront head-on,” she added.

Having said all that, Liew believed all is not lost.

According to her, the government is listening to the voices of women calling for more women candidates in elections towards increasing women’s representation in the Sabah State Assembly and the Malaysian Parliament, thus empowering them to hold ministerial portfolios in the State and Federal Governments.

"This brings me to the importance of the SWEPA International Women’s Conference. The objectives of this conference are multifaceted: professional development, addressing global challenges, building networks and partnerships, and facilitating cultural exchange,” she explained.

Among the speakers who will cover six critical dimensions at the conference are Personal Development by Datuk Prof Dr Stella Chin from Malaysia, Investment and Real Estate by Lynn Tiang from Singapore, Global Leadership by Dr Kimberley LaComba from the USA, In-Tech by Ashraf Dato’ Ghazi from Malaysia, Economic Empowerment by Dr Malini Pande from India, Women Empowerment by Emeliana Rice-Oxley from Malaysia and Environmental Justice by Louise Mabulo from the Philippines.

Additionally, three panel sessions will tackle essential topics namely, Leadership Journey by Datuk Nancy Ho, Dr Firdausi Suffian, and Dr Kimberley LaComba; Work-Life Harmony by Josephine Hadikusumo, Emeliana Rice-Oxley, and Zurinah Datuk Hanafiah; E-Commerce & Digitalisation by Carol Fung, Tan Wan Ting, and Yein.

Meanwhile, SWEPA president Karen Wong said there will be forums of discussions on subject matter relating to women leadership, women transformation, women harmonious lifestyle and adding up to digitalisation and information technology topics such as AI and robotics being crafted along the pipeline.

"This two-day event will not only cover with sessions of sharing, it will also give an opportunity for some of our members to promote and showcase their products and services at the exhibition booth under the umbrella of our SWEPA Pavilion.

"The assurance of excitement and great enthusiasm in this conference will definitely bring enhancement not only to our local community but also to the foreign participants where a lot of local tourism element will be represented by our post-conference tours, especially embedded for them in their conference packages,” she said.

During the press conference, Liew announced RM100,000 worth of sponsorship to assist the event. ― The Borneo Post