adventure – Sabah Insights

Tanjung Aru Beach Festival has galvanized Sabahans’ opposition to TAED

Sunset at Tanjung Aru Beach – Picture by Sri Pelangcongan Sabah

Ten years after its launching, the 7.1-billion-ringgit Tanjung Aru Eco Development to turn Sabah’s most famous and spectacular 2-km beach into a tourism hub remains in limbo all because of opposition from Sabahans and environmentalists. And this has led Christina Liew, minister of tourism, environment and culture, to quip that she has been reminded of “how powerful our community is” in a speech to launch the two-day Tanjung Aru Beach Festival at Prince Philip Park in Kota Kinabalu which ended on September 22. Her speech, which was delivered by her assistant Joniston Bangkuai, paid tribute to Sabahans for being a “living testament to their talent, creativity, and resilience” in their participation of the festival. And if the bosses of TAED think that the festival will mitigate the people’s objection to their project, they are wrong. Rather the festival has galvanized Sabahans’ opposition to it.

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Why Tawau Hills Park must be protected at all cost

“The Tawau Hills Park is not merely a backdrop for a run,” said Alesia Sion, deputy permanent secretary of the tourism, culture and environment ministry, at the Tropical Rainforest Run on November 26. “It is a sanctuary that deserves our utmost care and protection.” Indeed. The only reason that the 280-square-km park was set up in 1979 was to protect its water catchment from loggers. They had tried to chop down valuable tropical hardwood trees in one of the last remaining lowland virgin forests where some of the world’s tallest trees stand to almost 100 metres tall. Yet temptation reigns supreme. But state officials are banking on sports tourism to keep it in check.

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Tag: adventure

Power to the people

More than just a fun run through the rainforest