Malaysia's 'Agnes Keith' Receives 7,215 Visitors In First 6 Months

SANDAKAN (Sabah, Malaysia), July 7 (Bernama) -- Agnes Keith House which is among the Sandakan district’s attractions in east Malaysian state Sabah received 7,215 visitors in the first six months of this year. Of the figure, 4,798 were domestic tourists, 2,147 were foreign visitors and 270 comprised students, according to Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry permanent secretary, Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai. Agnes Keith House which is a historic heritage managed by Sabah Museum Department was opened to the public in 2004. “Although Agnes Keith is not a local, we are grateful for her contribution to social anthropology research and to the state of Sabah through her books. "We also appreciate the help of the Department of Museums Malaysia in financing the rehabilitation of Agnes Keith House in 2001, which enabled the local community to generate income through tourist arrival,” he said when launching Agnes Keith Day in conjunction with Sandakan Festival here Thursday. The house was named after its owner Agnes Newton Keith (July 4, 1901 – March 30, 1982), an American author best known for her three autobiographical accounts of life in North Borneo (now Sabah) before, during, and after the Second World War. -- BERNAMA