Environmentalists are trying to stop a development project from taking place on Tanjung Aru beach in Kota Kinabalu . — filepic
KOTA KINABALU: The government is resolute in its decision to turn the Tanjung Aru public beach and park into a 348ha eco-friendly integrated waterfront despite protests by environmentalists.
However, the decision has not affected the spirits and hopes of nature lovers as they set up a page to collect signatures for a petition asking the government to stop the developers from carrying on withthe project scheduled to start next year.
The development would entail the revitalisation of the 1.35km Tanjung Aru beach as well as the rejuvenation of Prince Philip Park and sea reclamation.
The petition at change.org – STOP the Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd (TAED) Project – which was set up on Monday and linked via the Save Tanjung Aru Facebook Page has garnered more than 500 signatures since then.
The administrators in their message to the government said they want the Tanjung Aru Beach returned to the people and to stop the state-owned Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED)’s plans to build resorts, hotels, golf course, marina and so on.
They said that there should be no massive canal digging or beach reclamation along the Tanjung Aru beach area but only approve environment-friendly erosion control with the most minimal impact to the surrounding areas.
The government is also urged to return the Tanjung Aru Beach under Kota Kinabalu City Hall authority and allocate more funds to maintain and enrich the beach compound, especially Prince Philip Park.
Apart from that, they suggested that there should be no private ownership or commercial monopoly along the beach and to declare Tanjung Aru beach and the in-shore government land as a city park reserved for recreational, sports, educational, cultural and artistic purposes for the public.
It was also suggested that the government retains 100% public access to the beach and coastline at Tanjung Aru and restore its natural iconic Aru trees (casuarina equisetifolia) and enrich the surroundings with eco-biological concept.
The page administrators called for more public forums, round table talks and workshops for stakeholders to create policy and future planning for public participation regarding the development of the beach while urging for more safety features such as CCTVs and police beats to be installed as well as employ lifeguards.
The project was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during Malaysia’s 50th birthday celebrations.
