The Star, Malaysia : Sabah floods not a threat to tourists

Sunday January 4, 2004

Sabah floods not a threat to tourists

KOTA KINABALU: Tourists should still be allowed into Sabah’s wildlife-rich Kinabatangan region as the current floods there pose no immediate threat to them, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Karim Bujang said.

“There is no reason to discourage people from coming to the Kinabatangan region. For some tourists, the flood is a unique experience,” he said yesterday.

Lodge operators in the area should be allowed to decide whether they could handle tourists safely, Karim said.

However, he cautioned resort operators to have additional precautionary measures in transporting tourists over the flooded Kinabatangan river.

On Wednesday, Kinabatangan district officer Abdul Latiff Kandok was reported as saying that travel operators should issue an advisory for tourists to temporarily stop visiting the Kinabatangan area because of the floods.

Lodge owners were also told to temporarily stop accepting new bookings.

Of the six tourist lodges along the Kinabatangan near Kampung Sukau, five continued to operate while the sixth was closed due to the floods.

Managing director Albert Teo of Borneo Eco Tours, which owns the still-operating Sukau Rainforest Lodge, said the flood was only causing “minor inconveniences.”

Teo said his company was employing additional precautionary measures such as having satellite telephones on boats transporting tourists.

He added that between 15 and 20 tourists were still visiting the lodge daily.

“The use of life jackets is mandatory,” he said.

He said the Sukau Rainforest lodge was built taking into account the annual floods.

“Our river tours are also not affected by the floods and neither has wildlife sighting reduced because of the present situation,” Teo added.