From: Annabelle Funk, SM Muthu and Jefferi Chang, via email
We are concerned that the natural beach and coastline at Tanjung Aru will be irreversibly destroyed by the Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd Project in order to build a mega development which includes huge reclamation and the building of an artificial beach.
We are not against development but we do not agree with the destruction of a beautiful natural beach and habitat for the oriental pied hornbill and blue nape parrot.
We appreciate the great development plans but not when it is detrimental to the environment and causes the public to lose a large portion of public land.
We are only against unsustainable development such as tree clearing, land dredging and sea reclamation. We are also greatly concerned about the sustainability of the fake beach, especially its maintenance cost and impact on the environment.
Resorts and other tourist attractions should be built in places which do not affect public recreational areas, since in Kota Kinabalu there is already a great shortage of public parks and beaches.
Tanjung Aru is iconic to Kota Kinabalu and it holds a deep place in the hearts of the people here. It should remain a long and uninterrupted beach with plenty of parking and direct access to the beach, as it used to be.
Instead of a large scale development, what would benefit the public is the restoration of Prince Philip Park, open access to 1st Beach and continuous maintenance of the picnic grounds along the beach.
The objective of the Stop TEAD Sdn Bhd Project online petition is to bring together the voices of the local public and people from around the world to appeal to the Chief Minister of Sabah, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, to reconsider the plan to excavate and reclaim Tanjung Aru beach.
At the moment, the online petition has gathered 1,200 signatures and we hope many will help to share the cause to gather more support to save this iconic place not just for local people, but also for international visitors.
We want to invite people and all organisations to help us in spreading and advocating for this cause by giving their comments regarding Tanjung Aru beach in this online petition so that the Chief Minister of Sabah can read for himself the people’s opinion.
STOP the Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd (TAED) Project
Annabelle Funk, SM Muthu and Jefferi Chang are coordinators of Save Open Space Kota Kinabalu, an online group dedicated to the protection, conservation and maintenance of all urban and residential green areas, ensuring they remain as public or residential parks and gardens.
Facebook page: Save Open Space Kota Kinabalu
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