Shafie
SEMPORNA: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has called on the relevant authorities to punish without compromise, anyone who breaks the curfew imposed on the waters off seven districts in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZone).
He emphasised that the security authorities should not relent and let off culprits lightly just because they were found to be local residents or Malaysians.
“These people may be locals but they have broken the law and could even be working for criminals. So there should not be any backpedal as it is not something that warranted mitigation,” he told reporters after the groundbreaking for the Seafest Star Class Hotel & Suites project here yesterday.
He noted that the security authorities had a procedure to follow, which does not merely entail issuing a warning, “which is simply not efficient”, but stern action to get the message across that breaking the curfew is a serious offence.
On the five-star Seafest hotel project, the Chief Minister is happy that a local entrepreneur is expanding its hotel line in Semporna.
Shafie said the hotel industry is one of the sectors that contributes to the economy of the country and the new 240-room hotel would generate the tourism apart from contributing to the economy.
“Not only the infrastructures for hotels should be taken care of but also the security in order for a healthy growth,” he said when officiating the ground breaking ceremony of RM100 million Hotel Seafest Star project here yesterday.
The hotel project, developed by Seafest Sdn Bhd under the chairmanship of Datuk Chua Ching Wah, is expected to be completed in three years.
Shafie said the new hotel would fulfill the high-end tourist demand and reckons it will become a tourism centre for the country and Sabah, especially in providing hotelier service.
Meanwhile, Chua said the hotel would have five-star facilities such as a luxury lobby, fully equipped gym and spa, international standard cafe, themed restaurant, swimming pool and international standard deluxe and suite rooms.
Semporna tourism has grown from 17,000 to 500,000 tourists last year and currently about 50,000 tourists and visitors come to Semporna every month.