KOTA KINABALU: Policy makers have been urged to think of the future generations when they enact new policies.
Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun made the call yesterday during the Asia Pacific Ecotourism Conference 2014 (APECO 2014) at the Pacific Sutera Harbour near here yesterday.
He urged policy makers to stop merely thinking of the needs of the present and to also consider the needs of the future generation.
“The present thinking is to take everything now which is very selfish. We need to think of how our policies are going to impact on the future generation,” he said.
Masidi commended the current government, stating that it has already taken steps to create policies that were unpopular yet crucial for the State.
Among the policies that have benefited Sabah, particularly the eco-tourism sector is the State government’s policy of reducing its dependency on logging activities and to protect its forests. The State Government aims to protect 55 percent of its forests.
“It was not a popular policy but we need to differentiate between striving to become popular or striving to make the right decision…we need to work towards what brings bigger benefits to Sabah,” he said.
He also urged leaders, namely policy makers to have the common sense to leave a good legacy.
“It will not be easy but we have to plan beyond our lifetime,” he said.
During the event, Masidi said the government had decided to limit visitors to Sipadan and Mt Kinabalu to 120 divers and 192 climbers, respectively on a daily basis.
He said that the carrying capacity for both the tourism destination in Sabah was fixed so as to protect their pristine nature.
“We are also studying whether we need to restrict the number of visitors going to the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park (TARP) because we have received complaints that the islands were over crowded,” he said.
“We need to make the islands sustainable so we cannot have too many people going there,” he said.
At the same time, he also mentioned about the existence of illegal boat operators who were noted ferrying passengers to the TARP islands and said that the actions of these operators would jeopardize the tourism industry in Sabah.
While addressing the participants of the conference, Masidi said that the tourism sector was one of the prime sectors that contribute to the nation’s economic growth, both in generating national income and job opportunities.
He said that in 2013, the tourism industry contributed RM51.5 billion to the Gross National Income and was the sixth largest contributor to Malaysia’s economy.
Tourism, said Masidi, was also the second largest foreign exchange earner after the manufacturing sector.