Seeing Sarawak’s future from Abu Dhabi

There is something about travelling that makes ideas we often hear about back home suddenly easier to understand. Seeing how another city functions can turn an abstract development concept into something tangible.

This week, that idea for me has been the meaning of a “hub”.

I am writing this from Abu Dhabi, a city I previously knew mostly through photographs, news reports and its reputation as one of the Middle East’s major aviation centres. Spending time here, however, has made me think differently about what connectivity can eventually do for a place.

Abu Dhabi has fascinated me not only because of its impressive infrastructure and rapid development, but because of how international it feels.

People from seemingly every corner of the world live and work here. Different languages and accents are heard everywhere, while international schools, businesses and services have developed around a population that includes a sizeable expatriate community.

Yet, amid all that scale and modernity, what has struck me most has been something much simpler: the warmth of the people.

Travelling with a one-year-old can make you slightly apprehensive about the inevitable noise, restlessness and unpredictability. But people here seem particularly fond of Rafael.

Complete strangers smile and wave at him, while others stop to make him laugh. Those little interactions have made a foreign city thousands of kilometres from home feel surprisingly welcoming.

Somewhere between arriving at Zayed International Airport and exploring Abu Dhabi, I began thinking about Tanjung Embang and Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg’s wider vision of strengthening Sarawak’s position as a regional gateway.

The proposed new international airport at Tanjung Embang is envisaged as part of a much larger development that includes a deep-sea port and other economic activities.

Its significance, therefore, should not simply be measured by the size of a terminal or the number of runways eventually built.

Abu Dhabi offers an interesting example of what can happen when aviation becomes intertwined with a wider economic strategy.

Zayed International Airport handled a record 32.5 million passengers in 2025, connecting the emirate with destinations across Asia, Europe, Africa and other regions. Some of those travellers were not visiting Abu Dhabi at all, but simply using it as a convenient point between two journeys.

However, a successful hub creates opportunities to convert some of those passengers into visitors, customers, investors and potentially future residents.

A traveller who originally intended to spend several hours between flights may decide to spend a night in the city, benefiting hotels, restaurants, attractions and businesses.

If that experience leaves a strong enough impression, the same person may return for a longer holiday. Others may eventually encounter employment, business or investment opportunities that give them a reason to stay.

That thought became particularly interesting as I noticed just how many expatriates appear to have built their lives in Abu Dhabi.

Behind every international school, residential community and foreign accent is somebody’s story of how they arrived here. I found myself wondering how many initially expected Abu Dhabi to be temporary.

Perhaps some arrived for a two-year job posting that became ten years. Others may have come for business, or simply discovered the city while travelling through this part of the world.

I cannot say how many residents actually first encountered Abu Dhabi during a layover, but the possibility itself illustrates something important: connectivity allows people to discover places they might otherwise never have considered.

It also made me think about the Sarawak-Malaysia My Second Home (S-MM2H) programme, which provides a pathway for eligible foreigners who wish to make Sarawak their second home.

If Sarawak wants to attract more long-term residents, investors, professionals and retirees, connectivity will inevitably be part of that equation. People need convenient access to a place before they can realistically imagine building part of their lives there.

A visitor might initially spend three days in Sarawak, return later for three weeks and eventually decide that this is somewhere they could comfortably spend several years.

This is also why Tanjung Embang becomes even more interesting when considered alongside AirBorneo.

Sarawak now has an airline of its own at the same time that it is planning how its aviation infrastructure should develop for the decades ahead.

Put AirBorneo, Tanjung Embang, tourism and S-MM2H together, and the different pieces of Sarawak’s connectivity ambitions begin to make more sense as part of a larger ecosystem.

An airport requires airlines and passengers, while airlines require viable routes and destinations. Tourism depends heavily on accessibility, and programmes designed to attract longer-term residents become considerably more appealing when people can travel easily between Sarawak and the rest of the region.

Being in Abu Dhabi at this particular moment therefore feels like receiving a small glimpse, or perhaps a taste, of what a more connected future Sarawak could eventually look like.

I am not suggesting Kuching should become Abu Dhabi. Our geography, population, culture and economic circumstances are very different, and Sarawak should develop according to its own strengths rather than imitate another city.

What interests me is the underlying idea of a place becoming increasingly connected to the outside world while retaining an identity strong enough to make people want to experience it.

Perhaps a more internationally connected Kuching would mean our children growing up hearing more accents around them and studying alongside children whose families came from different countries.

They may grow up seeing international visitors not as something unusual, but as part of everyday life.

AirBorneo could help strengthen the network that brings people into our part of Borneo, while Tanjung Embang could eventually provide the gateway through which many of them arrive.

Tourism would give them reasons to visit. Our economic opportunities could give some reasons to work or invest here, while S-MM2H could give others a pathway to stay longer.

None of this, of course, will happen simply because Sarawak builds an airport or owns an airline.

Becoming a genuine hub requires viable routes, competitive fares, efficient transfers, airline partnerships, reliable ground transport and sufficient passenger demand to sustain the network over the long term.
There must also be compelling reasons for travellers to leave the terminal, and this is where Sarawak already possesses advantages that cannot simply be constructed from concrete and steel.
We have our food, culture, history, rainforests and wildlife. We also have a relatively relaxed way of life and a capital where nature remains remarkably close.

Perhaps the greater challenge has always been making it easier for the world to reach us.

Years from now, someone from another country might find themselves transiting through Tanjung Embang. Instead of spending several hours waiting for another flight, perhaps they will decide to spend several days discovering Kuching.

They may return for a longer holiday, come back for work or investment, or eventually decide that Sarawak is somewhere they would like to call their second home.

Infrastructure can bring the world to our doorstep and connectivity can encourage people to stay longer. Ultimately, however, it will always be the character of a place and the warmth of its people that make someone want to return.

Standing here in Abu Dhabi, perhaps that is the glimpse of Sarawak’s future that fascinates me most.

The views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of Sarawak Tribune. The writer can be reached at sarahhafizahchandra@gmail.com.