KOTA KINABALU: An international webinar themed "People and The Mountain Relation" hosted by the Sabah Cultural Board (LKNS) involving Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea will be held on Wednesday (Oct 6).

       The event is hosted with the co-operation of Sabah Park board of trustees and is expected to be officiated by state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin.

       LKNS said in a statement on Saturday (Oct 2) that the webinar would touch on the world view of the cultural communities towards mountains, which were normally seen as sacred, leading to the conservation of the environment at this landscape.

       In Sabah's context, Mount Kinabalu, which was a World Heritage Site, was seen as a sacred mountain for most communities, especially the Kadazandusun and Rungus that live in the areas around the mountain according to their ancestors' beliefs, added LKNS.

       "The webinar will bring diverse views from different nations in understanding the relations of communities with mountains, the tourism rules associated with this, as well as the protocols when one is at the highlands.

       "It will touch on the need to keep the sanctity of a mountain not only as a flora and fauna habitat, but for spiritual reasons.

       "Panel members representing Sabah include Sabah Tourism Board general manager Noredah Othman, LKNS cultural consultant Dr Paul Porodong and Justinus Guntabid from Sabah Parks, among others," according to the statement from the Board.

       The event will also see representative panel members from Indonesia, the Philippines and South Korea, where it will take place from 9am until 4pm and will air live in LKNS Facebook page and Sabah Gov's Youtube channel.