Common Talk Weeklyshuang yu zhou kan
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Closer to Sabah
November 19, 2003
By Yayu Wu ＆ Jean Chen

Malaysia Airlines (MA) have recently introduced another direct air link from Kota Kinabalu, one of its domestic destinations to Xiamen. On October 28th, Malaysia Airlines Inaugural Flight Press Conference was held at Xiamen Mandarin Seaside Hotel. Mr. Danny Kondic, General Manager Sales of Malaysia Airlines in charge of the issue was present. After the press conference announcing the new route, our Common Talk reporters had a short interview with him.

阳光、沙滩、碧海蓝天，多元的民族风情文化。这就是哥打京那巴鲁，马来西亚沙巴州的首府。10月27日，马来西亚航空公司开通了该城飞往厦门的直航。沙巴 州官方人士一行同机抵达厦门，在悦华会展酒店举行了沙巴旅游推介会。会后，马来西亚航空公司销售总经理Danny Kondic先生欣然接受了Common Talk记者的专访。

Mr. Danny Kondic
General Manager Sales of Malaysia Airlines
Q : Firstly, congratulations on this first direct airline route to Sabah from Xiamen opening successfully! Why have MA chosen Xiamen as the first city in mainland China to open their direct route from Sabah?

A: There are two main reasons. Sabah, which is the closest place within Malaysia to China, is opening up to the outside world and is becoming the second gateway into Malaysia. It is known that Malaysia consists of two main islands, the east island and the west one. At the moment, eastern Malaysia is quite indirect for the rest of the world. We plan to develop traffic into eastern Malaysia. The twice-weekly service from Kota Kinabalu （哥打京那巴鲁）, the capital of Sabah（沙巴) to Xiamen, operates every Monday and Friday. I firmly believe that Xiamen has a good market and great potential.

Q: What do you think will result from the opening of such direct airline service?

A: It must be a great success. There will be a lot of business opportunities for both sides. Of course, it also would be very successful for Kuala Lumpur （吉隆坡） if the chance had been given to the capital of Malaysia. But I should say Sabah is wonderful, especially for Xiamen locals to visit and enjoy its natural beauty. It is definitely true that Sabah will become greatly successful, as the state grows up more. Furthermore, Sabah is unknown to most Xiamen people, and is a new place to enjoy.

Q: As we know, it’s your first time to Xiamen. What are your impressions of our city?

A: Fascinating! Xiamen is more than what I expected. You couldn’t imagine how surprised I was when I saw such a modern city at first sight. Xiamen is developing at a quite amazing speed and it is spreading so fast. Xiamen is unique and different from most of other cities in China. Usually people think a big city is a big city. What is unique? Unique means you have something special to offer. It means something you can do only in Sabah, for example, that you can’t do in Kuala Lumpur.

Q: Do you like the local food?

A (raising his thumb): The seafood is very good. I have really enjoyed every dinner during my stay here. It is very nice. I want to look around the city, as I need to go to the market to buy some special local products.

Q: As an airline company expert， you must have visited many countries around the world. What differences are there between China and other places in the world?

A: China is fascinating. Just three weeks ago I visited Beijing. Now I want to see more. You know why? China has special cultures, foods and dialects in each different area. The east has its characteristics, and so do the west, north and south. That is amazing. I come from Australia. Australia is all the same everywhere. So it is fantastic in China. I have really enjoyed my trip to China.

Q: If you had the choice between working in another Chinese city such as Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou, which place would you choose?

A: I like Shanghai most. Shanghai is the financial center of China and is full of business potential. But the lifestyle is fantastic here. You can choose to work and struggle in a big city and relax and enjoy your life in Xiamen after your retirement.

Sabah
A new place escape
Sabah, the second largest state in Malaysia, is the closest place in Malaysia to China. There are quite a lot of Chinese people working and living in Sabah. Most of them originally come from Fujian province. The commencement of this new service is part of Malaysia Airlines’ effort to strengthen Kota Kinabalu as one of its secondary hubs in east Malaysia with more point-to-point flights between the city and other international destinations, as well as to boost inbound tourism into Sabah.

Flight service
Flights between Kota Kinabalu and Xiamen depart every Monday and Friday.

12:50-16:00 KK-Xiamen
17:00-20:10 Xiamen-KK