Call to turn Pulau Gaya into a clean, healthy, environmental friendly place.
KOTA KINABALU (March 5): Former Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Hiew King Cheu has urged the state Government to do something about Pulau Gaya which he opined, has been turned into an eyesore because of the squatter settlements there.
Hiew said that in the past 50 years, the beautiful and clean Pulau Gaya fronting the Kota Kinabalu City seafront had been turned into a dirty squatter housing colony filled with tonnes of rubbish.
The island, he said, also has no proper waste treatment plant to cater for the huge amount of human waste generated by nearly 10,000 people living there.
“The waste is discharged directly into the surrounding sea and on the land, causing serious pollution and contamination problem,” he claimed.
Hiew said that Sabahans, especially those living in Kota Kinabalu, feel that there must be some action by the government or authorities to make good the situation and to return Pulau Gaya to its natural beautiful look.
“We cannot accept our beautiful island being taken over by refugees and illegal immigrants. It is time some action has to be taken to rectify the ill situation before it is blown out of proportion,” he said.
Hiew opined that the calls by the people are valid and justifiable that the beautiful Pulau Gaya must be developed into a clean, healthy, environmental friendly place, booming with leisure and economy activities.
He further pointed out that to do this, it will need the stern and solid political will from the government.
Hiew suggested the Sabah government seriously consider the proposal to bring in international investors to convert the island into a holiday resort and nature park, including a five-star hotel with full leisure facilities and a theme park.
“To further enhance this future development, a rock/earth-fill causeway through the shallow sea with two beautifully designed bridges linking Kota Kinabalu City to the Gaya Island is essential. This will definitely provide a quick access to and from the island before any work to begin on the island,” he opined.
He highlighted on the rational merits on his proposed future development on the island as unique and will bring in positive impact in an impressive face-lift for the Kota Kinabalu City.
Once the project started, it will definitely provide job opportunities for thousands of people on the island, and will eradicate the illegal squatter area by housing them into new apartments/flats later built on the island, he said.
The five-star hotel will provide plenty of jobs and generate more income and revenue for Sabah.
To further make this proposal viable, Hiew suggests to bring in an international casino group to operate on the island with strict monitoring measures like Singapore who had started theirs many years ago.
The benefits and advantages will be immense if well controlled with a list of strict SOP under their license issued. The revenue and income to Sabah generally will be huge and that is what we needed. Besides that, the future tourist groups who are here on holiday shall bring in extra money. The setting up of the casino will surely create at least 10,000 jobs for our work lacking local folks.
“Many people said we truly needed this, but now the question remains whether our Sabah Government is determined enough to work this out with the federal boys on the issuance of the gaming license.
“One important fact is the gaming taxes are now standing at 30% for Federal and 15% for Sabah. This money will help our economy and developments in the near future,” said Hiew.