SANDAKAN – A recent two-minute video posted by a local Chinese man here managed to capture the ugly truth about the poor cleanliness level of Sandakan’s tourist spots, namely Kg Sim-Sim and Pasir Putih.
It was a slap in the face for the Sandakan Municipal Council (SMC) for failing to keep these areas clean, when Kg Sim-Sim is a cultural village frequented by domestic and international tourists, while Pasir Putih is the only sandy beach in Sandakan.
Even though the man, Facebook user Lamdojo spoke in Cantonese in the video, the disturbing footage of piles of rubbish at the side of the sea and the dilapidated condition of Bandar Nam Tung grabbed the attention of many people.
In the video, the man spoke sarcastically about the conditions he saw, such as that trees were growing on the walls of buildings because locals have been trying to preserve the originality and authenticity of the town, and that the Pasir Putih sea water smelled good and was safe to drink because it was very clean.
He was also heard saying “Our fish are chewy because they have been eating these” while showing images of rubbish piles under the houses at Kg Sim-Sim.
While such a video is no help to the Sandakan tourism sector, the responsible parties cannot escape from the truth that there is a severe cleanliness problem in the district.
The condition was so serious that during a visit by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing last month, he allocated RM200,000 each for Sandakan and Batu Sapi to clean up their tourist attractions, after he saw the condition when having lunch at Kg Sim-Sim.
While local authorities, people’s representatives as well as non-government organisations (NGO) have been conducting cleaning-up activities in the area almost every week, the rubbish would return in days.
Kg Sim-Sim is in the Tanjong Papat state constituency and its assemblyman, Datuk Frankie Poon Ming Fung told Scoop that people have the misconception that the rubbish is thrown by the Kg Sim-Sim villagers themselves.
While it is not entirely wrong, he said the villagers cannot take the full blame as most of the rubbish washed ashore, and ended up at the bottom of Kg Sim-Sim water houses during low tide.
“However, I wish to point out that ongoing efforts are being made to clean up the rubbish at Sim-Sim. In fact, this effort has been made since October last year.
“Unfortunately, nature being nature, plus the sea terrain at Lorong H, Sim-Sim (the part captured on video) area is on higher ground. When there is high tide and the rubbish is brought in from the sea and it gets stuck on the higher ground (Lorong H),” he said.
Poon added that he plans to prevent rubbish from the sea washed into the said area, but they can only be executed when he receives funds from the government.
Meanwhile, Future Alam Borneo, an NGO that has been actively studying water pollution around Sandakan Bay, emphasised the importance of a significant behavioural change by the people of Sandakan.
Its chairman Anton Ngui said that people here need to educate each other because what is found in the sea is a combination of everyone’s trash.
“People must learn that the sea is not our rubbish bin. Sandakan has many water villages, and the rubbish that moves around Sandakan Bay gets trapped in areas where the water flow is weak, like another village or the beach.
“All around the coastline, rivers, and streams, we have villages. Everyone is chucking stuff into the same water body, and it does not get sucked out of the sea. We have to have better education on rubbish disposal,” he told Scoop when contacted.
Scoop has contacted the Sandakan Municipal Council and is awaiting their response on the matter. – March 3, 2024