Masidi denies knowledge of devt on Sipadan Island

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KOTA KINABALU: Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun said he was in the dark on the plans to develop a tourism-based integrated development on Sipadan Island, as reported by an online business news portal yesterday.

“I have no comments as I don’t even know head or tail of the proposal. Pulau Sipadan cannot be developed as no commercial structure can be built on or around it. I believe they are talking about Sipadan Mangrove Resort at Kalumpang,” said Masidi, when contacted by The Borneo Post via text message, yesterday.

The article on an online news portal, Business Times reported that a company involved in diving activities in China, Diving Best, had proposed to invest RM2.5 billion in a tourism-based integrated development project on Pulau Sipadan.

It was also reported in the same article that Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA), the one-stop authority for the Sabah Development Corridor, had met with the Diving Best group on Monday, showing interest in developing a large area in Sipadan into a tourism-based resort, commercial, and high-end residential area with a focus on marine activities.

SEDIA chief executive Datuk Dr Mohd Yaakub Johari hosted the meeting which was also attended by officers from the Tawau Municipal Council, Sabah Tourism Board, and Immigration Department.

The proposed project will be segregated into five zones, namely residential area, commercial development, high-end resort, diving school and an administrative centre, expecting to welcome some one million tourists annually while providing 4,000 job opportunities.

Diving Best is known for running the Sanya Diving Training Centre in Sanya City of Hainan Province.

In his text reply to The Borneo Post, Masidi also questioned the validity of the report.