SANDAKAN, Nov 19 — Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan suggested that the Sabah government change the status of Batu Sapi from an industrial zone to a tourism destination.
The Batu Sapi MP said being a coastal area, Batu Sapi was more suitable for tourism and seafaring industry rather than for industrial development.
He said that the factories that were operating in Batu Sapi not only affected the lives of nearby residents with factory-related pollution but might have also caused harm to the coastal ecosystem following factory waste that might have made way into the sea.
“This is an appropriate time to gazette the many villages in Batu Sapi and I hope the Sandakan Municipal Council (MPS) could look into this,” he said when launching a tourism volunteer programme to revitalise the Heritage Park, a tourist attraction in Batu Sapi here today.
Khairul Firdaus was pleased that MPS had made progress in efforts to develop tourism in Batu Sapi by coming out with a tourism blueprint handed over to him by MPS president Henry Idol at the event.
“We have formed a strategic cooperation between Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac), Batu Sapi Parliamentary Office and MPS to ensure Batu Sapi’s Heritage Park will always become a tourist attraction,” he added.
— Bernama
