SAPP Wanita files objection on Tanjung Aru Beach plan

KOTA KINABALU - Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Women chief Melanie Chia Chui Ket attended the second Public Consultation of the Final Draft Kota Kinabalu Local Plan 2020 yesterday and has submitted an objection/comment form to City Hall stating her objections to the proposed plan in and around the Tanjung Aru Beach area.

Chia, who is also SAPP vice president, said this was because Tanjung Aru Beach is an icon to Kota Kinabalu City and remains an important asset to the city.

Chia, in a statement, said in that respect, she objected to the extensive reclamation proposed at the beach front here (extending to hundreds of acres of reclaimed land) and the reclaimed seafront land that is marked for hotel and resort purposes.

She contended that such massive reclamation will alter the iconic feature of the Tanjung Aru Beach.

“City Hall in its Urban Design vision has listed as its first policy in urban design as ‘to identify key structural assets of the city and articulate the ‘Vision’ for their preservation and enhancement’. But the massive reclamation at the beach front will destroy this very essence which City Hall vouch to uphold and this ought to be rectified,” Chia remonstrated.

According to her, similar pledges to preserve open spaces by making them accessible and safe and attractive to the public were also made in City Hall’s Open Space Vision.

“In line with these pledges to uplift and enhance the quality of life of city dwellers and preserve this valuable asset of the city, City Hall has to rectify the local plan to ensure that the Tanjung Aru Beach remains accessible to the public at large and therefore the zoning for hotel and resort purposes should be deleted.

“The government has to synchronize what it says and what is done to remain credible,” she said, adding that the disclosure by the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Musa Aman, yesterday that Tanjung Aru Beach will remain government property and will still be made accessible to the public is a comforting revelation but she lamented that the two proposals (as in the KK Local Plan 2020 and the proposed development by Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd) do not seem to synchronize.

“Is the KK Local Plan 2020 going to be amended to accommodate the proposed development of Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd? Public interests and accessibility and citizens’ welfare and well-being should not be sacrificed,” she opined.

BP