Sabah waterfront project review
Daily Express
Kota Kinabalu: Plans for a massive facelift to the two-kilometre city waterfront have been put on hold pending a review by the State Cabinet.
The Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront joint venture project between City Hall and a private developer which includes the construction of an iconic 6-star hotel that will be integrated with a shopping mall on 3.1 acres of seafront land hit a snag following reservations by certain quarters, here, particularly Marina Court condominium owners whose units face the sea. As a result, the State Cabinet decided Wednesday, to review the proposed seafront development as well as the site, said resource Development and Information Technology Minister Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai.
"The issue of development on the proposed seafront project here was brought up for discussion in the Cabinet meeting in view of comments we have received from various quarters.
"The Cabinet has collectively decided to review the design of the proposed project and there is need for the developer to submit the development plan to the Cabinet to be looked into," he said.
Yee, who is also Kota Kinabalu MP and Api-Api Assemblyman, revealed this after presenting certificates for an Intensive English Course (Daily Conversational English) at his Ministry, Wednesday.
Last week, Mayor Datuk Illiyas Ibrahim disclosed that the 6-star hotel-cum-shopping mall would be among the proposed improvements at the site facing the Marina Court, under the first phase of the Kota Kinabalu City Waterfront project.
He said the project was a 15-year-old development plan between City Hall and a private developer, for which the State Cabinet had given the green light on Dec. 5 and would involve no reclamation of the sea.
Marina Court unit owners expressed concern over the impending construction of the 6-star hotel-cum-shopping mall that will block their sea view which they said was the reason they bought the RM400,000 units in the first place.
They claimed they were assured of a sea view advantage upon purchasing the units.
Following this, Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun assured that every aspect of the proposed development will be "painstakingly" studied but also made it clear that he would not "prejudge" the matter.
Invoking the Coastal Management Guideline under the Environment Protection Enactment 2003, Masidi also said he stood by his statements to the press that reclamation along the coastline, even for development purposes, is not encouraged.
"We assure the people of Kota Kinabalu that we will painstakingly study every aspect of the proposed project. I cannot pre-judge.
"Although it doesn't involve any reclamation of the sea, I have told the Cabinet that we reserve the right to comment on the development plan after we have received it from City Hall and look at the comprehensive project proposal thoroughly," Masidi said.
On another issue, Yee said the State Cabinet had made it clear that the Central Market here will not be relocated.
A few years ago it was said the Central Market would be relocated elsewhere as the premises was seen as being not suitable to be in the heart of the city.
Meanwhile on some voters around the city claiming their polling stations have been changed to new ones based on their MyKad addresses, Yee called on the voters to take the initiative to re-check whether changes have been made in the electoral roll.
"If for any reason the voters cannot find their names on the electoral roll and their voting places have been shifted, they should go to the Election Commission (EC) office to do the necessary correction and they are allowed to do that based on what I understand.
"And there is always the availability of the EC website for anyone to log in anytime by putting in their identity card number to check the place you are voting," Yee said.
On Tuesday, Kota Kinabalu Barisan Nasional Chairman Datuk Yong Teck Lee disclosed that some voters here have claimed that their polling stations have been shifted based on the address in their MyKad, although they have not applied for transfers.
He said they are concerned of this situation because those who have been voting here for many years also experience it.
Yong also urged the affected voters to check with the EC directly or through its website.
