PRESENTATION of Malaysia’s dive sites at the Diving Equipment & Marketing Association (Dema) show in Orlando, Florida, United States was well received.

The Nov 1-4 event saw at least five Malaysian dive sites presented by international undersea photographer Rudy Whitworth.

His presentation entitled “Emerging Dive Locations in Malaysia” included Tioman , Kuching, Miri, Labuan and Layang-Layang and received positive reviews.

“One attendee from Martinique (a Caribbean island) said the images and stories made him want to travel to Malaysia,” Whitworth told via email.
Whitworth collaborated with Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysia’s popular dive sites.

Among the images of nearly 300 species were hammerhead sharks, tuna, barracuda, nudibranch and mating cuttlefish.

In the presentation, he also included the sightseeing attractions, lodgings, Malaysian hospitality, friendly people and the different cultures.

Whitworth was in Malaysia including Labuan for five weeks from April this year and shot over 6,000 pictures including some of the marine life he had not seen before.

He said the DEMA Show attendees were also interested in the shipwrecks and the shipwreck stories including those in Labuan waters. 
“My next presentation will be the ‘Shipwrecks of Malaysia’,” he added.

Whitworth also revealed that a representative of Asia Dive Expo (Adex) requested he present the Malaysian show at Adex in Singapore.

He was also approached by the editor of Wreck Diving Magazine who has plans to highlight Malaysian shipwrecks in an article early next year. – Bernama, November 8, 2017.