Malaysian Official Halts Construction at Sipadan, Orders Full Probe

Posted May 20th 2006 12:09PM by Willy Volk
Filed under: Events, Media, Flora & Fauna, Parks, Pacific

Musa According to the New Strait Times, the barge that destroyed Sipadan's reef has caused political upheavals in Malaysia. Apparently furious with the news, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has ordered a full probe into the disaster and has lambasted the officials in charge of the park. Moreover, he immediately halted all construction work on the island.

The Chief Minister claims he didn't know the government was constructing facilities on the island for divers, and seems to suggest that Koh Kiat, the Tourism Cultural and Environment minster, approved the contractor (Kumpulan Surati Sdn Bhd) to proceed with the work without his knowledge. In his own defense, Koh Kiat stated the work had been approved by the government.

Although the damage has been done, it'll be interesting to see what happens with Sipadan. My prediction: Koh Kiat...the tribe has spoken.

[Via Eating Chaos]

Reader Comments

(Page 1)

1. I never thought that a simple barge can bring some disbalance in the country... Maybe it's just a cause for action?

Posted at 1:55PM on May 20th 2006 by Jef

2. The barge was present in Sipadan for 3 days!! It's 3 freaking days!! Don't shift the blame of the subordinates of Sabah Park for not taking action, can you Minister of Tourism please explain?

Not even straight-away revoke the contract with the contractor? What the hell did you Minister of Tourism do about it? There're already enough existing necessary infrastructures left over by previous resort operators, why build more? Do we need a restaurant in Sipadan? Is building a restaurant and clubhouse will increase the visitors to Sipadan, which only allow a certain number of divers at anyone time? Given that Sipadan is well and resonably hitting its maximum visitors allowed, what is the benefit of building the facilities? Who will benefit as a result?

As these fall directly under your Ministry, Chong Kah Kiat!! You go to hell for destroying our Sipadan for your own personal benefit!!

Posted at 3:13AM on May 21st 2006 by Ikanbilis

3. This is stupid. someone who is greedy really messed things up. dont worry, soon all party involve will have to answer to the father of sipadan island. when that time comes i would really like to see who got hit the hardest. i dont really care who it is but someone have to pay and someone have to be incharge of cleaning up the island. they dump the construction material into the sea. what are they thinking ....

Posted at 12:03AM on May 23rd 2006 by greengo

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