Limkokwing Borneo students were greeted by the sun, sea and greenery as they arrived at Bako National Park as part of their orientation programme. For some of them, this was their first experience of taking longboats out to the sea and for many others, this was their first visit to one of many national parks in Sarawak.

With its rainforest, abundant wildlife, jungle streams, waterfalls, interesting plant life, secluded beaches and trekking trails, Bako offered Limkokwing students an excellent introduction to the rainforest of Borneo.

The new intake of students, consisting of 100 local and international students, were in awe of the magnificent land and seascape of Bako as they stepped on the beach and took in the astounding sights before being ushered for a briefing by both the staff of Limkokwing Borneo and the Park Rangers. 

Lead by senior member of staff Ar Philip Chang, the students listened attentively as the Park Rangers briefed the students of the Park rules and regulations. 

During their two-nights three-day trip, the students also participated in the various activities and challenges set by the Limkokwing Borneo staff team with one goal in mind; becoming the champion team of the orientation programme. 

The students also challenged their mental and physical stamina as they went on a jungle trek with their group members, and learnt to rely on each other for support as they braved the slippery grounds, winding paths and steep inclines. 

The one and half hour trek to Telok Pandan kecil is one of bako’s most popular. It ascends the forested hills overlooking Telok assam, reaching the plateau covered in scrub vegetation and continues along a sandy path lined with carnivorous pitcher plants before reaching a cliff top with stunning view of the secluded bay below the famous sea stack just offshore. 

“This was one of the most amazing treks I have ever taken,” said Peter Khamis from Tanzania who is undertaking Anglia Ruskin’s Computer Science programme. “There were times along the trek that we thought we could not go on another step but once we reached the cliff top, we could not wait to get down to the beach below.” 

“This is the first time that we have organized an overnight trip as part of our orientation, and the response by the students has been nothing but great from the start,” said Salleh Mohiddin, a lecturer from the Computer Science faculty.

“We wanted to introduce our students to the teamwork culture at Limkokwing Borneo, and it was amazing seeing all our local and international students working together and truly enjoying themselves as they went through the various challenges together,” he added. 

The main charm of Bako for the students was the serene surroundings and the occasional sightings of wildlife, which included lizards, monkeys and families of bearded pigs as they wandered about the hostels. 

“This is definitely an eye-opener for me as I have never seen monkeys, bearded pigs and snakes chilling and doing their own thing amongst people,” said Areeb Siddiqui, a Pakistani student undergoing the Anglia Ruskin Business Management degree.

The finale of the trip was the mass clean-up competition, whereby the teams had to compete against each other to see which group could accumulate the most litter on the beach. Students were told to first clean up the areas that they had occupied throughout their stay at Bako, before moving on and clearing out as much rubbish as possible from all the other areas. 

“We want our students to understand that they need to take care of our environment, and respect nature,” said Alan Goh, Programme Leader for the Faculty of Built Environment. 

“It’s amazing to see how responsible our students are as they were cleaning up after themselves even before we told them to. I truly admire the way they value nature above anything else,” he added. 

The students were all in praise for the hard work put in by Limkokwing staff. “I’d like to thank all our lecturers and staff members at Limkokwing Borneo for making this trip possible for us,” said Mohammad Syazwan, a Graphic Design student. 

“It was a great experience, and I hope that there are many more trips like this to come throughout my course of study here,” he added. 

The orientation programme to Bako National Park, which was subsidized by Limkokwing is just one of several events held to welcome students to Limkokwing and to provide useful information and help them settle in and allow them to meet other new students. 

Limkokwing Borneo, situated at Jalan Nanas, is a leader in producing graduates that meet the needs of the industry. Limkokwing has Malaysia’s best creative programmes that give the students the widest choice of subjects and also offer the transferability to any of the Limkokwing campuses worldwide.