Abang Arabi (front row-Sixth left) handed over the souvenir to Talib while Ahmad Lai (fourth left) and the others look on.

BATU NIAH – The uniqueness of the artifact inside of Niah caves will be destroyed if the public like to paint their ‘Modern Painting’ inside of the cave.

Assistant Minister of Tourism, Datuk Talib Zulphilip said that he was disgusted by the people who like to sign their name at the cave wall or trees.

He added that the habits of some people who like to paint their ‘Modern Painting’ inside the cave wall can be describe as irresponsible and very disgusting.

“The problem is not about the enforcement. Its about people who not know how to appreciate these heritage,” said Datuk Talib when met by reporters after the National Park briefing before proceeding with cave cleaning program held at Niah National Park, this morning.

During the briefing, Talib was informed by the management of Niah National Park that some of the caves wall were painted by irresponsible people and it is becoming worst.

Thus, he agreed with the proposal made by the Niah Management Park team to establish one special corner inside the cave where visitors can sign their visit to the cave at the Park.

He hopes the proposal can be implemented soon to prevent more ‘Modern Painting’ being painted on the cave walls and destroyed the value of the cave heritage.

The problem should not arise if every visitors to the caves have higher sense of belonging and responsibility, as well as appreciating what they have, he said.

“We visit the cave to have a look at our heritage and not to see modern painting inside.  What have been painted inside the caves are those painted by early people dated thousand years back,” he said.

Thus, he advised the people who like or wish to be an artist to do their painting in their own studio.

Also present at the event were Sibuti Member of Parliament, Hj. Ahmad Lai Bujang, Sarawak Forestry Corporation head for Northern Region, Abang Arabi Abang Aimran, Miri Deputy Resident, Abdul Aziz Yusof, Niah National Park, Park Warden, Haidar Ali and head of department.

Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester (left) presenting a mock keycard to Tune Hotels 2-Millionth Guest Budi Hariyanto, while his wife Sandra Kartika Yuwono looks on.

JOHOR BAHRU, 13 July 2011 – It must have been Budi Hariyanto’s luckiest trip to Malaysia this time around when he was welcomed as Tune Hotels’ two-millionth guest today.

Tune Hotels Group CEO Mark Lankester was at hand to welcome Hariyanto, 57, who was accompanied by his wife Sandra Kartika Yuwono, 52, and 20-year-old daughter Stefani Natalia at the hotel here. As Tune Hotels’ two-millionth guest, Budi Harijanto will be enjoying free stay for life exclusively at Tune Hotel Danga Bay.

Checking in today for a two-night stay, it is Hariyanto’s second time staying at Tune Hotel Danga Bay, having stayed previously at Tune Hotels in KLIA-LCCT Airport, Penang and Legian in Bali. Hariyanto is a Jakarta-based businessman running PT. Teknopak Industri, a composite can manufacturing company.

Lankester said: “We would like to congratulate Pak Budi for being our two-millionth guest and thank him for being a loyal customer of Tune Hotels. We are elated that in just four years since opening our first hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2007, two million people have actually walked through the doors and stayed in our 12 Tune Hotels in Malaysia, Bali and London. The extraordinary response from our guests like Pak Budi has spurred us be more innovative and continuously strive to give them great value, great savings. The next 18 months will be very interesting as we open more hotels in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia and the UK. With around 2,000 rooms throughout our network currently, we look forward to welcoming our next millionth guest soon.”

The upcoming Tune Hotels will be opening in Kulim, Kedah (Malaysia) in September, followed by Ermita, Manila (the Philippines) and Hatyai (Thailand), both slated for December 2011. Tune Hotels currently has 12 hotels located in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Damansara, Bintulu and Kota Bharu in Malaysia; Kuta and Legian in Bali, Indonesia; and London Westminster in the UK.

Hariyanto commented: “To be recognised as Tune Hotels’ two-millionth guest came as a big, pleasant surprise for me. My family and I have been loyal fans of Tune Hotels and we have stayed at various Tune Hotels in Malaysia and Bali, Indonesia. Being named the ninth most innovative brand in Indonesia recently proves that we have made the right choice with Tune Hotels. Being both a leisure and business traveller, I find Tune Hotels’ service concept very friendly and compatible to savvy travellers like us and the service has been consistently excellent throughout the network. My aim now is to try out Tune Hotel in London and we hope we can make our way there soon. And of course I will come to Johor Bahru more often now that I am enjoying free stay here.”

Tune Hotels was recently named among Top 20 Most Innovative Brands in Indonesia by MIX magazine, the country’s leading marketing communication publication. Standing at number nine, Tune Hotels was the only hotel brand and Malaysian-grown brand on the list. Meanwhile, its London Westminster hotel was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the world’s largest travel website TripAdvisor, as a “result of consistently great feedback” from the hotel guests.

Tune Hotel Danga Bay which opened on 15 May 2010, is strategically located in Johor Bahru city with easy access to Nusajaya, which is part of the Iskandar Malaysia development region. Various international projects are progressing in Iskandar, including international schools, hospitals, luxury homes, financial district, creative media and theme parks including the much anticipated Legoland that will open next year. Tune Hotel Danga Bay was among the first hotels to open in Iskandar since the development corridor project was launched in 2006.

Tune Hotel Danga Bay provides guests with easy and convenient connection to the Johor Bahru city centre and the Sultan Ismail International Airport. Centrally located between the Johor-Singapore Causeway and the Second Link bridge, Tune Hotel Danga Bay offers guests shuttle transfers to Resorts World Sentosa’s Universal Studio Singapore and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

Lankester further commented: “Tune Hotel Danga Bay was among the first hotels to open in Iskandar. We see huge potentials in Johor’s tourism sector and our pay-as-you-use model will allow both business travellers and holidaymakers to save their money in accommodation, conserve the environment and be able to spend it in the local areas, be it shopping, eating and the like driving up the local economy. Since our opening, Tune Hotel Danga Bay has played an important role in driving tourists to Johor and Malaysia as a whole, as well as to Singapore.”

Meanwhile, in conjunction with the coming fasting month in August, Tune Hotels is currently running a special Ramadan promotion with hotel rooms in Danga Bay, Penang and Kota Bharu going for as low as RM39 per night. The online promotion runs until Friday 15 July 2011, for room stay in the month of August 2011. More information on the promotion is available on www.tunehotels.com.

Since the removal of its admin fee in January, guests at Tune Hotels can save 20% if they purchase the Comfort Package that includes towels, toiletries and air condition credits online. They can enjoy even more savings of 30% with Plus Package that bundles television and in-room wifi at selected hotels.