KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is set to become a big producer of seaweed-based products following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Far East University of Taiwan and local based company, Lucky Frontier Sdn Bhd.
The MoU will see the university developing technology that can help Lucky Frontier produce more seaweed products for export, said the company’s managing director, Kiung Ted Min.
According to Kiung, Lucky Frontier is currently producing seaweed powder at its factory in Kunak, and with the technology that Far East University provides, they will be able to venture into other sectors like cosmetics, food supplements and food products.
“For a start, the university will be developing a technology that can extract more seaweed essence and also produce quality seeds. The collaboration will focus more on finished seaweed-based products that are environmentally friendly to be exported to Europe, Australia and other countries where environmental conservation is high on their list,” he said.
He pointed out that at the moment, the seaweed produced in Sabah are exported out and the finished product imported back into the country.
“With the collaboration with Far East University, I believe we will be able to turn Sabah into a main player in the export of seaweed-based products. This in turn will open up more job opportunities for our locals,” Kiung stressed, adding that Lucky Frontier’s factory will employ at least 200 people.
With the MoU, Far East University also offers Sabahans the opportunity to pursue their studies in the relevant fields and they will be offered jobs at Lucky Frontier’s factory after completing their studies.
“This will spur the socio-economy of the local community and also help boost the seaweed industry in Sabah which had declined quite drastically over the past few years,” he said, adding that Lucky Frontier’s factory which is the largest in South East Asia, is equipped with the latest machinery and has been operational since 2012.
It, however, had to stop operation temporarily following the security issue in the east coast and the reduction of seaweed produced by about 4,000 farmers in Kunak and Semporna,” he said, adding that the factory used to be able to 5,000 metric tonnes of seaweed powder a month.
Kiung also expressed the hope that the state government can help them in their efforts as it would not only improve the economy of the people in the east coast but also had the potential to be a main contributor to the state’s economy in the future.
During the signing of the MoU, Lucky Frontier was represented by its operations manager, David Kiun, while Far East University was represented by its vice president, Professor Ming Jyi Jang, and witnessed by the Taiwan Alumni Sabah branch advisor, Datuk Lawrence Ting.