WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2000
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2000
Objections to Likas Bay reclamation
GREEN CAMPAIGNERS ... (Sabah Environmental Protection Association) Sepa members displaying a banner objecting to the proposed project during the forum. NSTpicKOTA KINABALU - A forum to present and explain the detailed Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed Likas Bay reclamation project here instead became a channel to voice objections.
Attended by about 200 individuals and representatives of non-governmental organisations, the forum was also turned into an avenue to express their objections to the project.
The project involved the reclamation of 1.321 square miles of Likas Bay for commercial development and a site for the Kota Kinabalu City Hall building.
The forum began with Sabah Environmental Protection Association (Sepa) secretary-general S. M. Muthu questioning the organisers over the manner the 'forum' was conducted.
"We are more interested in the forum and not the briefing," he said, adding that the Oxford Dictionary defined a forum as having a panel of speakers presided over by a neutral chairman.
Organised by the developer of the proposed project, Rainbow Bay Sdn Bhd, the 'forum' was chaired by the company's managing director Ibrahim Tan.
Muthu's remarks sparked a barrage of questions from the floor, interrupting Tan's opening address. Tan appealed for calm and order, saying that they would have their say after he had finished.
At this juncture, Sabah Anglers Association chairman Datuk Wilfred Lingham stood up to support Muthu's contention and called for a neutral party to chair the forum.
Raising his voice, a community leader, Datuk Udham Singh, insisted on a neutral chairman. Accountant Allen Tong said the public was there to save Likas Bay and not to listen to the technical presentation.
However, Tan continued.
During a break, Sepa members unfurled a banner bearing the words: "Love the sea. Let's keep it blue, for you and me and our children, too". - NST
Copyright © 1999 Brunei Press Sdn Bhd. All rights reserved.
