Let public use Tanjung Aru beach instead of closing it, says civic group

A signage at Kota Kinabalu's Tanjung Aru Beach restricting people from using the beach.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's Tanjung Aru beach should be reopened to the public immediately, says a local civic action group.

The Tanjung Aru Action Group (TAAG) said that it was only necessary and appropriate for the beach to be reopened to the public as the proposed Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) project remains in limbo since it was proposed in 2016.

The group's spokesman Jan Chow said they inspected the Tanjung Aru beach site recently and there was no sign of any development.

She said that the road to the beach is closed to the public, with a sign put up by the TAED management saying that it is “temporarily closed for maintenance”.

"There was also rubbish scattered everywhere, turning what used to be a beautiful public beach into an eyesore. It is a glaring example of how our natural assets are being ruined by poor planning,” said Chow.

She added that the public has been denied access to the beach for more than five years.

"There is not a single sign to tell the public about the proposed TAED project which among others should indicate the name of the developers, the architect, the main contractor, the date of commencement and completion of the project. This is required by the authorities,” said Chow.

She added that the project's development plan has not been shown to the public, despite the fact that it involves a public beach.

"This is to ensure that the proposed development project would really benefit the people of Sabah and that it would not have any adverse environmental impact," she said.

Chow said that the present government should immediately return the public beach to the people.

She added that TAAG is also considering filing for a judicial review to compel the state government to make the full details of the proposed TAED project public.