New Sabah tourism minister Christina Liew backs the project, saying that Mazu statues erected elsewhere have been a game-changer for the local tourism industry.
Christina Liew says Mazu statues in Peninsular Malaysia are tourist magnets. “If they can have it, I don’t see why Sabah cannot.” (Facebook pic)
KOTA KINABALU: Plans for the world’s biggest statue of Mazu (Goddess of the Sea to the Chinese), barred by previous chief minister Musa Aman, may yet be revived, according to Christina Liew, the new state minister for Tourism, Culture and Environment.
Speaking to FMT at her office, Liew said statues of Mazu elsewhere had always attracted crowds of tourists and had become a game-changer for the tourism industry wherever they were built.
Similar Mazu statues in Peninsular Malaysia had proven to be tourist magnets. “If they can have it, I don’t see why Sabah cannot. But let’s get settled down first and we will see how we can go about it,” she said.
Liew, who is a deputy chief minister, said she would need to find out from her officers in her ministry why a stop-work order was issued by the previous government.
“The last time I heard about it, the Mazu project was shelved. It was not allowed to be built. But I think it is good to revisit the idea because I believe if it is built in Kudat, it will become another tourism hot spot in Sabah for sure,” she said.
“It is important for me to understand the status before bringing it up with the chief minister. Hopefully, we will resolve the problem that resulted in the cancellation of the project,” she said.
She believed the project would boost the economy of Sabah’s northernmost district by attracting thousands of visitors to Kudat at least twice a year when Mazu devotees celebrate the goddess’ birthday and the anniversary of her death or ascension to heaven, as devotees believe.
Kudat’s biggest tourism draw is currently the Tip of Borneo resort located 25km from town.
The proposed Kudat Mazu statue, at 33m (108ft) high, was to be the world’s tallest when proposed in 2005. It was to be built on private land facing the sea, at a cost of RM5 million.
The project was started by former chief minister Chong Kah Kiat, who was then chairman of the Kudat Thean Chou Charitable Foundation.
All the paperwork for the project was completed and the foundation for the statue completed when a stop-work order was issued on May 25, 2006 pending approval by Musa.
The stop-work order was based on objections by the Muslim community, on the grounds that the site was too near the town mosque, more than 700 metres away.
About six weeks later, the state mufti purportedly issued a fatwa addressed to Musa, specifically directing that the construction work on the statue be stopped for being contrary to Islamic teachings.
In 2011, Musa offered a new site for the project in Pantai Bak Bak.
Some 408 carved granite pieces for the statue, in 21 shipping containers, were reported to have been kept at the container yard then. - FMT
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