Sabah’s plans to ‘develop’ beach worrying

SEPA has been inundated with calls and emails asking about continued public access to the beach following widespread media reports of the development plans.

KOTA KINABALU: City dwellers are blogging their fears of losing access to Tanjung Aru beach here because of a development project initiated by state government.

The project was launched by the Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak during the celebration of 50th Malaysia Day on Sept 16 at Tanjung Aru Prince Philip Park.

The public here was shocked to read about the development plans, along with Najib and Chief Minister Musa Aman’s endorsement of a “major facelift” to turn the iconic beach into a “world class eco-friendly tourism centrepiece”.

Najib had reportedly said the plan, mooted by Musa, emphasised the importance of environment protection and made good sense because apart from preserving the natural beauty it will also generate revenue.

Among Musa’s ideas are the restoration of the beach and park which hold “priceless memories for the people of Sabah”.

The high profiled government-owned Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) will involve 53 hectares of land. The designer is Benoy – the UK-based award winning global leader in Architecture, Master Planning, Interior and Graphic Design.

But plans aside, the Sabah Environmental Protection Association (SEPA) has been inundated with calls and emails asking about continued public access to the beach following widespread media reports of the development plans.

“People are understandably concerned, having already experienced losing public spaces to tourism like Pantai Dalit in Tuaran and climbing Mount Kinabalu before the accommodation was privatised and prices rose astronomically.

“Will Tanjung Aru Beach become a playground for only the rich?” asked SEPA president Lanash Thanda.

According to Thanda, the foremost question asked by the public is whether they will have continued access to the public beach once hotels are built.

No information

Sharing some of the questions asked of SEPA, Thanda said the only information available to the public was a concept map published in the local newspaper and a giant signboard that stated “Returning Tanjung Aru to the people of Sabah: Rehabilitating the Beach, Regenerating the Park, Rejuvenating Tourism”.

Said Thanda: “How can you ‘return’ something the public already understands they have? And does this mean that that Prince Phillip Park will be given more space?”

Meanwhile Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun when posed with the question, expressed confidence that matters related to “public access to the beach” following the implementation of TAED will not become an issue.

He said the blueprint of the proposed development showed that over 50 percent of the area involved would be for public use and this includes the famous Prince Philip Park (First Beach).

Masidi said concerned members of the public could see TAED’s official blueprint for detailed information.

Welcoming Masidi’s invitation to peruse the blueprint, Thanda said the state government must be transparent on the project.

“This is the era of public participation, SEPA urges that a Special EIA be conducted due to the sensitivity of this issue,” said Thanda, lauding the government’s decision to setup an office in the area to inform the public.

He said SEPA had been alerted by experts on water quality and hydrology that due to direct effluent discharge and high erosion factor, something needs to be done to ensure the aesthetic beauty of Tanjung Aru is retained and that continued easy public access is ensured for the people of Sabah for future generations.

Meanwhile former state minister Yap Pak Leong commented on his Facebook that a “true development” of a public park needs only facilities, amenities for exercise and relaxation, beautification, maintaining, cleaning, innovative shows to attract the public.

Yap was once Sabah’s Minister in Ministry of Manpower and Environmental Development of Sabah (1976-1979) and Ministry of Local Government and Housing (1976 to 1982).

“Sorry to say Prince Philip Park is gone and has become mainly private properties. Future leaders will curse the present leaders when the KK population reaches five million in 20 years’ time.

“This type of development must be somewhere else where no rare beach, mountain or other valuable natural geographic features exists to be destroyed” he added. Yap condemn the development as shortsighted.

Fond memories
Joshua Kong, an online columnist also raised some question.

“The area would likely be flooded when there are high tides plus heavy storms. How to have a buildup project without sacrificing the very old Casuarina trees? When heavy reclamation is done, the very old trees would perish. Who can guarantee that the very old trees would not be uprooted?”

“Heavy and intensive development should be discouraged as the few roads in Tanjung Aru would be too congested and what is the solution for this traffic jams around the airport or KKIA.

Other concerns raised on this project referred to the pre-colonial era government building and quarters in the area.

Most of the government old houses in Tanjung Aru were demolished by earlier developers to make way for their resorts and hotels

There is no plan by the developer to preserve these buildings and monuments that are believed to be more than 50 years.

Prince Philip Park is located in what is generally known as the First Beach in Tanjung Aru. It is the first public park in Kota Kinabalu and was built to commemorate the Royal Visit to Sabah by the British royal family. The park was named after Prince Philip, the consort of Queen Elizabeth II.

Local dwellers with fond memories of childhood and youths spend along Tanjung Au beach are worried about how committed the TAED is in preserving the original nature of the area.