Malaysia Asia Wins Best Online Media at Sabah Tourism Awards 2011

Malaysia Asia Wins Best Online Media at Sabah Tourism Awards 2011 and this is my first actual award after three and a half years of travel blogging. It came to me as a shock because I was not informed of this until I got into Kota Kinabalu city after a flight from Kuala Lumpur on that day itself. Initially about two weeks prior to the awards, I was invited to the black tie event by Sabah Tourism Board to attend the occasion and little did I know that I was nominated under the “Award for Best Tourism Article and Documentary on Sabah” in the Online Media section. Was I stunned? You should have seen my face when my designated guide picked me up from the airport and informed me that I was one of the nominees.

Sabah Tourism Award for Best Online Media

The Sabah Tourism Awards (STA) are held every two years and is a prestigious event where tourism industry players are invited to this black-tie event held at the Magellan Sutera Harbor Resort. Nominees are selected by the board members and only revealed on the day itself. This is the sixth STA ceremony after being introduced back in 1997 where it was inaugurated to celebrate Sabah’s industry’s achievements and to acknowledge the commitment to excellence.

The nominees include contributors to the state and national tourism
developments in various fields including front liners, agencies, hotels,
resorts, businesses, and the media which includes print and online. For the state of North Borneo also known as The Land Below The Wind, The Sabah Tourism Awards is the highest prestige given only to the crème de la crème of the tourism industry and I am very thankful for receiving this award.

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Certificate of recognition for Best Online Media at Sabah Tourism Awards 2011

It was a night of glamor and excitement as I walked through the main doors of the stylish Magellan Ballroom at the Sutera Harbor Resort and was greeted by the staff of Sabah Tourism. As they ushered me to my seat, I took a look around noticing that the function room looked simply beautiful while the massive screen on the main stage area stole the attention of the guest who were all dressed to the nines.

I was happy that I choose a black suit with a gold tie as I blended in with everyone else here. As the emcee and host read out the awards for each category, the crowd was very supportive with each of the winners. During each interval, there was a performance or show by various artist and well known celebrities from Sabah.

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STB Awards 2011 in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

A special surprise performance at the awards was local girl Che’Nelle who made it huge in the United States and globally with her hit ‘I fell in love with the DJ‘ which got the crowd excited and some singing along. She sang three numbers before the awards reached the last category. For the final gambit, the staff of Sabah Tourism Board gave a performance that rocked the house. They had been practicing the ‘Shuffle’ from LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and made a grand entrance straight to the stage area. Dressed in their suits and gowns, the staff shuffled away along with professional dancers impressing the VIPs and guests. Some even joined in and they partied on the dance floor for a number of songs before ending the night.

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Che’Nelle performing at the Sabah Tourism Awards 2011

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Sabah Tourism Board staff doing the Shuffle to LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem

sabah-tourism-awards-2011-dance Malaysia Asia Wins Best Online Media at Sabah Tourism Awards 2011

Sabah Tourism Awards 2011 staff shuffling for the end gambit

The night ended with VIPs, guest and staff networking and socializing at the lobby area of the hotel and I caught up with lots of new and old friends there while we congratulated and chatted over wine and beers to celebrate the occasion. I was also fortunate to be introduced to Sabah’s Tourism Minister – Datuk Masidi Manjun by the STB General Manager Datuk Irene Benggon and later have my picture taken with him (my opening picture in this post).

As this is my first actual physical award for Malaysia Asia, I would like to say Thank You Very Much to Sabah Tourism Board, my family and friends and to my followers and readers of Malaysia Asia. Without your support, I would have not got to where I am today. I will continue to do my best in sharing my travel experiences, information and photographs with everyone around the world by using my blog, Facebook and Twitter. As I am still on cloud nine, I honestly never expected that Malaysia Asia could win Best Online Media at the Sabah Tourism Awards 2011.

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Federico 25/11/2011 6:20 am

Congratulation David, I am sure you are very pleased with this recognition!

Yee Ling 25/11/2011 6:21 am

Congrats David! Keep up the good work.

Nate @ House of Annie 25/11/2011 6:28 am

Congratulations, David! Well earned, I must say. You really set the bar for travel blogging.

Malaysia Asia 25/11/2011 6:52 am

Federico – Thanks, pleased and more than that too. Very happy with it.

Yee Ling – Thank you very much and will do!

Nate – Thank and I'm just another travel blogger out there sharing my experiences and hope to do my best.

Mica 25/11/2011 7:36 am

Congratulations to you David. You really set a great example in that you just have to keep doing what you love because you love it, and in this manner, you will continue to put out excellent content and if you are patient and keep working hard, one day you can be rewarded for your perseverance. Many bloggers give up too easily and you really deserve this award for your dedication.

You should be so proud of yourself!

TianChad田七摄影 25/11/2011 8:58 am

Congratz to you David =D

Robo 25/11/2011 9:23 am

Congratulation David! 🙂

Meitzeu 25/11/2011 11:13 am

Congratulation! And great to know you have won the prize and recognition!!

Eyetravelsolo 25/11/2011 6:43 pm

Congrats. David, you deserve this for sure. You articles and photography have opened my eyes to a Malaysia I never really knew.

As a soon to be resident, your insight has gone far beyond Tourism for me, it has been a valuable resource.

Keep up the good work.

Gerard ~ GQ trippin 26/11/2011 12:38 am

Congrats David. That's huge!

Jen 26/11/2011 3:50 am

What can I add to all of the above. It is always a pleasure to find a new blog post from David – researched in person and extraordinary finesse.

Wilson@PlacesAndFoods.com 26/11/2011 6:08 am

Congrats, all the hard work finally paid off. All the best.

Syima Emi 26/11/2011 7:53 am

Congrats David. Keep up the good work

Malaysia Asia 26/11/2011 1:59 pm

Mica – Thank you very much and yes, I work hard, mostly alone but am happy where I am now. Just need to keep the ball rolling 🙂

Tian Chad – Thank very much! We must meet up one day.

Robo – Thanks and likewise, we have to meet up one day.

Brandon – Thank you very much!

Malaysia Asia 26/11/2011 2:05 pm

Meitzeu – Thank you girl!

Eyetravelsolo – Thank you and wow, resident soon? I'd like to know where you plan to stay here in Malaysia. Shoot me an email.

Gerard – Thanks very much and yes, very huge for me!

Jen – Thank you for the kind words.

Wilson – Thanks and yes it did. See, stay true and things will happen.

Syima – Thank a lot and I will do my very best! Especially for 2012.

Traveling Ted 26/11/2011 4:20 pm

Congratulations. That is so awesome you won when you did not even know you were nominated until the day of. Must have been a great day.

Traveldudes – Melvin Böcher 27/11/2011 11:55 am

Congratulations! Well done & well deserved!

Keep the good travel stuff coming!

Malaysia Asia 28/11/2011 7:44 am

Ted & Melvin – Thank you very much. Yes, was a total surprise to me and will be remembered for the rest of my life.

Christy @ Technosyncratic 28/11/2011 2:04 pm

Congrats!! That's a pretty awesome trophy. 🙂

Emme Rogers @ Roamancing 28/11/2011 3:33 pm

What fun! Love that people don't know they are nominated until the day of.

Congratulations!

Malaysia Asia 28/11/2011 4:59 pm

Tony – Thank you so much!

Christy @ Technosyncratic – Thank you and yes, it's pretty heavy too! Now sitting on my shelf.

Emme Rogers @ Roamancing – Thanks and exactly! I was dumbfounded when told about this.

inka 28/11/2011 6:26 pm

I am in awe David. How absolutely fabulous and an inspiration to all of us travel bloggers. Richly deserved and heartfelt congratulations.

Jen 29/11/2011 3:22 am

wow! that's so excellent!! congratulations!!! it's good to see that all your hard work was recognized in that way!!

thomas 29/11/2011 4:45 am

Congratulations David,
finally a recognition for your tireless effort.

Sophie 29/11/2011 4:35 pm

Excellent news, David. Congratulations, well-deserved!

Malaysia Asia 29/11/2011 6:35 pm

Inka – Thank you so much. I hope that one day other tourism bodies will follow and have awards like this.

Jen – Thank you and yes, all those 3 years of learning, visiting, writing and photographing have paid off in a good way. Great start for me for 2012.

Thomas – Thank you very much! Tireless is the word… as I type this, I'm packing my bags for a flight to Japan tomorrow… winter time!

Sophie – Thank you and one of my dreams is to meet all of you! One day it will come true.

Cathy Sweeney 30/11/2011 2:33 am

Congratulations to you! Well-deserved. Love all your photos of the event, too. What a night!

Nomadic Samuel 11/12/2011 7:48 pm

Congratulations mate! What an achievement 🙂

Malaysia Asia 12/12/2011 12:37 pm

Cathy – Thank you so much! I still had to take pictures that night 🙂 Was a wonderful evening.

Nomadic Samuel – Thanks mate! This means so much to me and am very happy about it.

CathJ 14/01/2012 12:47 pm

You are the mannn…. david…. Hat down…. Congrats! 🙂

Unknown 23/02/2012 7:11 am

Congratulation hantu… 🙂

TravelNotes 23/02/2012 10:09 pm

Congratulations on the award. It looks like it was quite an event.