KOTA KINABALU: One of Sabah’s largest sub-ethnic Chinese groups, the Hakka people, is hopping on gastronomy tourism to promote local Hakka cuisine and culture.
This initiative will start with a group of over 30 Hakka families in Sabah’s interior Tenom district.
This was made known during the recent opening of a Hakka farmstay at Kampung Lagud, where local entrepreneur Lawrence Wong explained that this new community tourism product is a first step forward in the process of empowering the Hakka community there.
Kampung Lagud is home to about 30 Hakka families, all farmers, with an eye toward turning their area into the Lagud Hakka Cultural and Farms Village.
Wong, who travels vastly for work, said that he set up a farmstay in Tenom because he was inspired to do so by the stories of other successful communities and rural tourism.
“This is not something I will undertake on my own because teamwork is essential for moving the community forward and empowering the village through tourism,” he said during the event last Sunday.
“We are sure that the Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will help the Hakka people here, which will give us more confidence to take part in the success of its tourism ventures,” he said.
Wong’s farmstay works with other Hakka farmers and restaurant owners to make sure that visitors can try authentic Hakka food.
It also provides visitors the opportunity to learn about local crops, with Tenom being well-known for agro-tourism, and encourages guests to tour neighbouring farms run by the villagers.
Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, who is also STB chairman, said expanding gastronomic tourism in this interior district would allow Tenom to capitalise on the demand for authentic Hakka experiences.
“This is a good start to uplifting the Hakka community, and I see the potential for expanding this effort to other districts where there is a Hakka population,” he said.
“We at STB see this as an effort to bring in more tourists, especially the Chinese, and I am confident this authentic experience will become a hit not only for tourists but also for locals,” he added.
Padas Farmstay owner Tham Yau Kong thinks that food tourism is a big part of the business that has the potential to bring back customers.
“Having been in the (tourism) industry for so long, I want to share the successful experience I have gained and help local Chinese communities here because they are rich in culture, tradition, and heritage,” he said.
He said Tenom Hakka food has been around for decades, but little has been done to market it.
He hoped that the Kudat district, which also has a sizeable Hakka population, would be inspired by the initiative taken by Tenom’s Hakka community as well.
According to the 2020 census report, there are some 248,920 people in Sabah who identify themselves as ethnic Chinese (or 7.3% of Sabah’s population), out of which the majority are Hakkas.