World Scout Conference 2020 Can Boost Country's Tourism Industry

KUCHING (Sarawak, Malaysia), Aug 7 (Bernama) -- The Scouts Association of Malaysia wants to bid for the rights to host the 2020 World Scout Conference in Kuala Lumpur, not only for the benefit of the movement but also because it will help boost the country's tourism industry. Chief Scout of Malaysia, Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh, citing the relocation of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to Menara Sentral Vista, Kuala Lumpur, he said they had been busy organising various activities. "When we succeeded in making Malaysia the WOSM headquarters, Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz (Minister of Tourism and Culture) commended us,” he said, adding that if scouts from the Arab countries came to Malaysia, they would come in large numbers and would spend big. "If Malaysia manages to organise the World Scout Conference 2020, each country will bring six registered delegates together with 10 to 20 observers which is good enough for the country's tourism industry," he told reporters after the Malaysia World Scout Day celebration and Mount Serapi Climbathon at the Kubah National Park, here, Sunday. It was opened by Sarawak Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah with over 1,500 participants climbing the 911-metre high Mount Serapi. The Scouts Association of Malaysia will make an official bid to host the 2020 conference in KL at the 41st World Scout Conference to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from Aug 14 to 18. Meanwhile, Abdul Karim, when met by the media, welcomed the move and said they were ever ready to cooperate if Sarawak was chosen to be the location for any of the scouting activities. National Chief Scout Commissioner, Maj-Gen (Rtd) Prof Dr Mohd Zin Bidin said the movement had 65,000 members nationwide, but still many were not registered with the movement. "We are a registered body with WOSM, so all members need to be registered with the official body in Malaysia and WOSM because we have to pay the fees to WOSM. This problem not only occurs in Malaysia but worldwide,” he said. "We do not want to force them (to register). However, for registered scouts, WOSM provides training packages for different ages. "The question of copyright for the training and so on which is currently used by unregistered scouts belongs to WOSM. So, If they are not registered, they should not be using the curriculum," he added. -- BERNAMA