Malaysia: Sabah mulls limiting the number of tourists into state’s islands

Stephanie Lee The Star 12 Jan 14;

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is looking at limiting the number of tourists into islands in the state to prevent the destruction of their ecosystems.

However, state Tourism, Culture, and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said they are not rushing into making any decision as the commercial aspects must be considered.

Masidi said a special committee under the chairmanship of the state permanent secretary was set up around November last year to discuss the matter. The committee involved various tourism agencies and departments.

“We are getting more and more visitors to Sabah, especially to our islands, and this would sooner or later take a toll on our environment,” he said, after launching a coral seedling planting programme by the Malaysia Inland Revenue Board, together with Sabah Parks at the Manukan Island, here, on Saturday.

“The number of visitors to the Manukan Island itself last year was about 400,000, and this shows how much tourists love coming to Sabah and our islands,” he added.

“We are still discussing this and are in no rush to make any decision as yet,” he reiterated.

Sabah to uphold its policy on islands
New Straits Times 12 Jan 14;

KOTA KINABALU: Despite being unpopular with tour operators, the government will uphold its policy of preventing islands in Sabah from being overcrowded by visitors.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the controls were required in order to ensure the state's natural wonders remained pristine.

He said a special committee under the chairmanship of the state permanent secretary was already looking into the possibility of limiting the carrying capacity of each island.

"This may not be favoured by tour agencies, but we need to look ahead and find ways to sustain our tourism products," he said yesterday.

Meanwhile, he stressed that there would be no development within or around Sipadan, which is well-known as one of the top diving destinations in the world.

Masidi was commenting on reports about an investment project said to be focused in Sipadan involving China's Diving Best, a Chinese company.

"To my understanding, they are talking about the Sipadan Mangrove Resort in Kalumpang, which is located near Tawau and is already in operation, and not Sipadan (Island).
"I assume that they are talking about an expansion.

"Everyone knows Sipadan is a highly protected area. No one is allowed to put up a structure, either on the island or around it."

Yesterday, Masidi launched a coral planting campaign organised by the Inland Revenue Board in collaboration with Sabah Parks at Manukan Island off here.

As part of the board's corporate social responsibility programme, 129 divers planted 3,040 individual corals and created a new Malaysian record.

Tourism project to take shape in Semporna
Avila Geraldine New Straits Times 15 Jan 14;

CLEARING CONFUSION: Sipadan Island off-limits to any development, says state govt's investment arm

KOTA KINABALU: THE state government yesterday cleared the air over a RM2.5 billion project by a China-based company said to be carried out on Sipadan Island.

Known as the Sipadan Mangrove Resort, the integrated tourism development project will be carried out in Semporna.

Yesterday, the state government's investment arm, Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (Sedia), issued a statement to clear the air on the project's location.

Stating that Sipadan Island was off-limits to any development, Sedia said it acknowledged the significance of preserving the island in its natural state.

It also expressed regret over a previous statement, which had created confusion.

Sedia chief executive officer Dr Mohd Yaakub Johari had been quoted as saying a China-based group had expressed interest in developing a large area in Sipadan into a tourism-based resort and commercial and high-end residential areas, with a focus on marine activities.

Yaakub said under the company's proposal, the project would be developed under five zones -- a residential area, commercial development, high-end resort, diving school and an administrative centre.

He said Sabah was well known in China as an eco- and marine-based tourism destination, which piqued the group's interest.

In its statement, Sedia said the project with the company, Diving Best, was an expansion of the existing Sipadan Mangrove Resort (SMR), an entry point project listed under the state's regional cities and corridors programme, with an estimated investment value of RM491 million and set to generate RM114.9 million in gross national income by 2020.

"The collaboration between Diving Best and SMR is the result of a match between investors from China and a local business partner after their first meeting recently, which was attended by Sedia officials."

The project will be carried out on a 112ha private land belonging to SMR.

Sedia said the location in Sungai Kalumpang was chosen because of its proximity to Sipadan Island, which is a 35-minute boat ride from the mainland.

Under the project, Diving Best expects to attract one million tourists annually, create 4,000 jobs and house a population of 12,000 within the project location.

"As listed in the Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) blueprint, Sedia is one of the three key principles underpinning SDC activities to ensure sustainable growth via environmental conservation.

"The other principles are capturing higher-value economic activities and promoting a balanced economic growth, with fair distribution."

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun stressed that Sipadan was a highly protected area and no structure was allowed to be constructed either on the island or around it.

Diving Best is best known for its Sanya Diving Training Centre in Sanya City, Hainan Province, in China.