Kota Kinabalu's Tanjung Aru beach is known internationally for its iconic sunsets that s draw locals and tourists in droves.
KOTA KINABALU: The silence over development at Sabah's iconic Tanjung Aru beach here has left many citizens wondering about the real plans for the controversial project.
Locals and regular visitors are questioning what the parties involved in the Tanjung Aru Eco-Development (TAED) mega-project are really up to as there are no visible signs of ongoing development, merely barriers to keep people out.
They complained that most of the beachfront under the proposed TAED had now become a wasteland with the public barred from entering and upkeep of the area neglected.
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"The only thing done is to put up pondok (huts) to collect parking fees. What are they really up to?" asked a Kota Kinabalu resident.
"It looks like they just are just cashing in on the popularity of the beach. They don't even do anything to enhance it."
The group said the public has been barred from camping or bringing pets to the beach.
TAED, the authority appointed by the state government to carry out a massive redevelopment of the Tanjung Aru beachfront, has not responded to questions raised by the public and the media.
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Yong, a retiree who lives in Tanjung Aru and goes to the beach daily, said the activities carried out in the vicinity of the project were disturbing the peace and angering the people who live nearby.
"It used to be fairly quiet and peaceful but it is so congested and dirty now," she said.
"One day the traffic goes this way, the next it's another way. One day we are told there is no parking here, but the next day, cars are parked everywhere.
"They do not clean up the area where the stalls are, so it's always dirty and smelly," said another complainant who gave his name as Juakim.
"We also used to see Kota Kinabalu City Hall workers every morning, as early as 7am, cleaning up the beach and the surrounding areas.
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"Since TAED took over the area about a year ago, there is rubbish everywhere, even more now because of the increased number of stalls and people.
"The grass is long and untrimmed and the picnic huts are so run down, it's an embarrassment," he added.
Another regular beachgoer, Raymond, 45, said TAED was collecting money from parking, rent from the vendors and even allowed horse rides to operate but would not allow the public to bring their pets.
"What are they doing? As far as we can see, they have put up offices, hired 'security' and cleared land. We pay for parking, but the parking bays are haphazard and the lot is dark at night," he said.
Raymond, like many other beachgoers, was curious about the planned development as the Tanjung Aru Beach 2 and Beach 3 areas have been closed to vehicles for no apparent reason.
"We used to be able to drive up to the beachfront for a picnic or barbeque.
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"We were told this was now a restricted area and were turned away," he said.
The beach was previously known as "Zero Beach" when it was under Kota Kinabalu City Hall as it was free for public use without any restrictions.
"Tanjung Aru belongs to the people, it should be public, not privately managed, with public interest at heart, not profit," said another beachgoer.
Clubs by the beach, like Kinabalu Golf Club and Kinabalu Yacht Club, have also been affected by the TAED development which they said hinders motorists driving onto their grounds.
TAED was a multi-billion ringgit project mooted in 2016 under the Barisan Nasional government that envisioned a mixed-development, modern tourist attraction for Sabah.
It drew a lot of criticism over environmental and public-interest concerns and was revised by the current state government to be more "people-centric".
