Sabah tour operator acts to save marine habitat

Jaswinder Kaur, New Straits Times 3 Jan 10;

KOTA KINABALU: Tired of seeing rubbish floating on crystal-clear waters at Pulau Mabul, off Sabah's east coast, a small tour operator has taken things into its own hands.
In an effort to save the sea and marine habitat, Scuba Jeff Sipadan Paradise, which is 20 minutes away from the world-renowned Pulau Sipadan, is now paying villagers to collect rubbish.

The community service started on Dec 19 with the operator paying 50 sen for each bag filled with plastic bottles and waste that largely ended up in the sea from villages on the island.

"For a start, we got children involved in the project. They are good swimmers and were very happy to help. They collected 125 plastic bags.

"We want to do this two to three times a month to save the sea. It is a start," the owner, who only wanted to be known as Zaidi, said on the island.

He said it costs RM300 to rent a boat to have the waste sent to Semporna, about 45 minutes away.

Zaidi said there was no point in waiting for someone else to do the job, and that he was happy to help in his own small way.

Mabul now has close to 10 resorts and guest houses, following the government decision to stop overnight stays at Sipadan five years ago.

Mabul is also known for diving, an important revenue earner for Sabah.