KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor said Semporna needs broader planning and facility upgrades to develop tourism and the blue economy.
“All these aspects will be looked at so Semporna would become a tourism district,” he told reporters after attending a district development briefing during his visit to Mataking Island here on Thursday (April 7).
Hajiji said Semporna includes Sipadan Island and other islands that draw tourists. He said the district also has fisheries and marine resources.
The visit to the island was held in conjunction with the Chief Minister’s Security Inspection Visit to the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESS Zone), which began in Sandakan on Tuesday, continued to Lahad Datu on Wednesday, and concluded in Semporna on Thursday.
He said officials discussed cleanliness, island jetties and other facilities during a development briefing on Semporna. He said authorities would review those needs.
Earlier, Hajiji visited islands around Semporna, as well as Sandakan and Lahad Datu, to assess security conditions. He also inspected security posts and received development briefings.
He visited Sipadan Island and received a briefing from Sabah Parks. He also attended the groundbreaking for a security post on Ligitan Island.
