Daily Express Subscriber
Sign in to your account.

What’s in a cup of coffee? Jokingly, City Hall Mayor Datuk Nooliza Awang Alip noted that just the aromatic whiffs of coffee alone invigorated her for the day, she quipped at the launching of the Sabah International Coffee Festival at Suria Sabah Shopping Mall on Sept 30

Why not if that is the magical power of coffee.

But in reality, the centrality of it all is not necessarily coffee but use of the popularity of coffee with a greater purpose – boost City Hall’s “Love KK Network” programme which the Mayor launched on April 1.

Joachim and Mayor Noorliza sampling a specially brewed coffee while coffee committee Chairman Richard Lim looks on. 

 

Joachim, Noorliza and Lim touring a coffee booth.

Sample of a specially brewed flat white coffee.

Ferment coffee from KL– practically unheard of! 

Delegation from Sulawesi. 

Wild Coffee from Indonesia. What a surprise!

Sour coffee from Indonesia, anyone? 

Under the Love KK Network is a component called “Love Vibrant KK”, meant to reignite the social, economic and financial life back to a once vibrant KK, after two years of pandemic lockdowns and shutdowns had extinguished much of its shine from the city.  

Daily Express – media sponsor ‘with a purpose’  

Grasping City Hall’s transcendent purpose of its initiative to restore a vibrant economic life to KK by pooling the power of collective efforts of a big network of participants, the Daily Express became a willing Media Sponsor of the festival by fielding two journalists – Anthea Peter and me to cover, plus an admin and marketing trio, Majorie Noivont, Stephenie Yong and Katrina Chang – a vibrant interest in itself!

Daily Express reporter Anthea Peter covered the coffee festival and shows she has the expert touch of a barista. 

Daily Express media sponsor team: Majorie Noivont, Stephenie Yong and Katrina Chang. 

Prior to the coffee festival, Daily Express threw its support behind City Hall when it hosted he Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) on Climate and Energy international workshop (August 15-17) at the Kinabalu Hyatt Regency and covered the historic visit of Polish Miss World Karolina Bielawska who promoted “Beauty With a Purpose” and who graced City Hall’s Gala Charity Dinner at Sutera Magellan on August 26, under the banner of “Love Vibrant KK”, which raised RM160,000.       

Pooling the strength of 30 under ‘Love KK Network’ programme   

Again, Daily Express was in a pivotal picture in the coffee festival Sept 26 to Oct 2 when City Hall enlisted a network of some 30 leading organisations, led by the Sabah Employers Association, Borneo Coffee Alliance, Federation of Sabah Industries, Sabah China Chamber of Commerce, supported by the Ministry of Industrial Development, the Department of Industrial Development & Research, the Ministry of Youth & Sports, Pernas, Ministry of Industrial Development Finance, co-sponsored by Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, the Department of Agriculture, Sabah Tourism Board, Property Hunter and sponsors like Starbucks, DESA, CIG Marketing Company, Cuckoo, Boncafe, NCT, LuXicon Coffee Lab, Asian Tourism Institute , Monocolo Boutique Hotel, Coffee Mimosa, Madness Roastworks, Nature Coffee, One Roof, Duddells Lewisgene, Pregio etc.

Launching the carnival zone part of the festival. 

Joachim and Noorliza visiting a herbal booth. 

Joachim, Noorliza and Lim visiting one of the booths at the carnival zone. 

Professionally-bottled homemade local products. 

Industrially-bottled ‘lihing’ and gift baskets at the carnival zone.

Processed Tambunan ginger product. 

Packed salted duck eggs. 

An enterprising spirit of turning ‘bambangan’ into bottled juice. 

Usually we avoid listing everybody but this time, it fits the bill of Love KK Network Programme so we do. The climax to this pack of network was clearly the Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Industrial Development, Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam, who launched the spirited event comprising the mainly coffee related Expo Zone at the Ground floor and the highlights of, the local manufactured products in the Carnival Zone on the 8th floor.

National and international presence 

Adding weight to it all were the strong presence of top coffee bean producer Indonesia at the Ground floor Expo Zone and West Malaysian coffee outfits from KL and Penang.   But more than just coffee, the 8th floor Carnival Zone was a discovery of some unsung enterprising entrepreneurs who showcased quite a level of sophistication on their own products. The take home experience will probably mean bigger things to come in the future.