“We might lose out to neighbouring Philippines and Indonesia if we allow environmental problems to mar Sabah’s image as a land of beauty, mountains, islands and sea.”
“Tourists want to see a clean and healthy environment. They can’t stand seeing garbage all over the place and being bothered by flies. All this is unnecessary.”
He was speaking on the sidelines of the first installation ceremony for the Sabah Construction and Domestic Waste Management Association in Kota Kinabalu.
The Philippines, added Masidi, has diving spots as good as Sipadan which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) awarded to Malaysia after a dispute with Indonesia and where Manila was denied observer status. “The only problem in the Philippines is the poor security in the south.”
“In Indonesia, they are rapidly developing their islands for tourism.”
In short, said Masidi, tourists in future will be spoilt for choice between Sabah, the Philippines and Indonesia. “Sabah might lose out if we don’t look after our environment.”
“The hospitality industry in Sabah is everything about the environment. Green is gold in Sabah.”
The Sabah Minister was urging the people to take ownership of the rubbish problem and remove the waste products that they generate. “We have a big price to pay if the waste problem continues unattended.”
Giving some examples, he said that rubbish littered the coastline in Kota Kinabalu along the scenic Likas Bay fronting the South China Sea, and garbage was all over the place around the houses on stilts in the old Sembulan quarter in the Sabah capital. “We have beautiful mountains, forests, beaches, islands and crystal clear waters.”
“We are also good at throwing rubbish although we are supposed to be good people, the ‘best’ in the country. It’s just not enough for people to look beautiful. The state must continue to remain beautiful as well, clean, green and healthy.”
The rivers, continued Masidi, are not moving dustbins. “When the rubbish problem was mentioned, people straight away point their fingers at the illegal immigrants in Pulau Gaya, opposite Kota Kinabalu.”
“The people on the island don’t have Mercedes Benz, or even Proton, from which a lot of rubbish is thrown onto the streets. According to a study by City Hall, 70 per cent of the garbage problem comes from what’s thrown out from cars.”