I gazetted KK Wetlands after Daily Express report
Published on: Sunday, October 15, 2017
THERE will be no gazetted KK Likas Wetlands as we know it today if it was not for Datuk Seri Yong Teck Lee, who was Chief Minister under the two-year rotation system of the chief ministership 1996-98.Then known as the Likas Bird Park (or known as Likas Bird Sanctuary) it was Yong who wasted no time in starting the process towards saving it.Realising the importance of having such an oasis within the city's perimeters,
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Yong's SAPP-led State Cabinet decided to designate the Likas Swamp as "Land reserved for public purposes as a Bird Sanctuary" under the Sabah Land Ordinance 1930. The decision was made in September 1996.ADVERTISEMENT Today, he is still banking on the Sabah Cultural Heritage Conservation Enactment 1997 to prevent developers laying their hands on the wetlands, Padang Merdeka, Atkinson Clock Tower and Datuk Chong Thain Vun Park.Recalling the events that led to its gazetting, he said the Daily Express higlighted that workers at a proposed Rakan Muda sports field near the wetlands in 1997 had stumbled upon birds' nests with eggs when earthworks were about to start. However, he could not remember the species of birds.In this regard, he credited the Daily Express for continuing to raise public consciousness so that green lungs and parks can be protected from encroachers."The matter caught media attention. The paper quoted a European naturalist (I think a Dane, who was in town). ADVERTISEMENT Local environmentalists and naturalists like Tengku Adlin came forward with ideas. Later, the Government cancelled the Rakan Muda Sports field project to make way for the bird park although it was an approved, ongoing project for youths. Nature lovers then came into the picture to initiate the bird sanctuary," he recalled.The other challenge was that the then Sports Board, which is the adjoining land owner, had also proposed to build a theme park in the vicinity, which would obviously turn the whole locality into a commercial and congested area. "That, too, after some discussions, was shelved in favour of the bird sanctuary," Yong added.Yong chaired a highly-charged meeting between Sports Board officials (who understandably saw the benefits of their theme park proposal) with Kota Kinabalu Municipal Council (MPKK) and other government officers. "As the then Assemblyman for the area who also happened to be CM at the time, I was in favour of a bird park instead of a commercial theme park. Simply, a theme park can be located elsewhere in the city whereas a bird park cannot be replicated or planned. A bird park is nature's gift," he said.Fearing that subsequent officials (including politicians) might abuse their power and turn the Likas Bird Park (and other sites) into commercial development, the 1997 Enactment was passed to protect sites, according to the former CM."The approval of the State Assembly was thought to be required as Assembly proceedings are open to the public and media. This would act as a deterrent to any abuse by executive power behind closed doors," he shared.Thankfully, because of Yong's personal involvement, the Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Enactment 1997 was passed by the State Assembly in June 1997 when Yong was Chief Minister (May 1996-May 1998). In this enactment, "conservation" means the process of looking after a cultural heritage or a conservation area so as to retain its significance, and includes maintenance, preservation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation or a combination of two or more of these. "Conservation area" means an area declared as a conservation area under Clause 4 (1) whereby the Yang di-Pertua Negeri may on the recommendation of the State Cultural Heritage Council, by notification in the Gazette, declare any area as conservation area to be preserved or conserved as a cultural heritage."I bring foreign visitors to the KK Wetlands. I set free a bird that was caught by a Papar farmer. It feels good to be there. A friend was given the bird by the farmer, and they did not know what to do with it. So I took it to the Doggie Pet Shop (which kept birds) at the Bornion Centre, Luyang. "But the following day, the owner informed us that the bird was not eating. We then took it to the Aviary at the Lok Kawi Zoo. The staff there said there was no such species of birds at their place. They advised us to set it free at the Likas Bird Park which we promptly did," Yong recalled.He had no idea what type of bird it was, and there was no name to start with, so he went to the State Library to search for images of birds and compared them with the photo of the bird taken by him. "I found out it is a black and red Broadbill (Cymbirhynchus macrorhynchos)," he said.Until today, Yong is still pursuing the 1997/1998 proposal to expand the Likas Bird Park into a Green Belt. "It is awaiting implementation," he said.The Likas Green Belt was planned in 1997 to connect the Botanical Garden (adjoining the Government Printer) along Jalan Tuaran to the Likas Sports Complex greens, and the KK Wetlands to the Likas Lagoons along Jalan Tanjung Lipat. This, he pointed out, would be a major green asset to uplift the quality of life of the people of Kota Kinabalu City, given that it has become increasingly congested.His correspondences with the President of the Sabah Wetlands Conservation Society (SWCS), Datuk Hj Zainie Abdul Aucasa and the Mayor of Kota Kinabalu (then and now), showed his growing concern over persistent threats from developers since the 1980s.In a letter to Datuk Hj Zainie in February 2016, Yong cautioned the Society against a proposal to develop the wetlands and the Likas lagoons. He cited physical structures, pavilions and restaurants as being mentioned by the developer. According to Yong, what was proposed by the developer then was disguised as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, and worse than what had been rejected 20 years ago. The former CM was equally astounded by a particular individual's remark that a bird park has no place in a city like KK, and should be moved to Tuaran.Two months later (April 2016), he also proposed that the SWCS take up the task of bringing to fruition the Likas Green Belt.Last November, he wrote to Zainie again enquiring about the progress of the realisation of the Likas Green Belt (with a copy extended to Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai).Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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It is understood that the 7th SWCS Management Meeting discussed the proposal last year, but the outcome is not known.In his reply to Yong early this year, Zainie concurred with him that the proposed Likas Green Belt would strengthen efforts to protect KKW, the last remaining green lung in the city of Kota Kinabalu. - Mary Chin