RM1mil cancellations on safety fears
Published on: Thursday, July 09, 2015
Kundasang: The number of visitors to popular tourist spots here has dropped drastically a month after the June 5 earthquake tragedy and 100-plus aftershocks that occurred.Sabah Parks Director Dr Jamili Nais believed fear over further tremors and safety were keeping visitors away until such time when these threats were over. The statutory body is the caretaker of three holiday spots here, namely Kinabalu Park, Mesilau Nature Resort and Poring Hot Springs.While Mesilau Nature Resort is closed indefinitely due to damages, Kinabalu Park and Poring Hotsprings were only shut down for a few days. "The number of foreigners have also shrunk. On average, these spots registered around 600,000 visitors annually," he told the Daily Express, after handing over contributions from Sabah Parks to the families of Mountain Guides who died in the earthquake.
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On damages incurred at Mesilau Nature Resort, Dr Jamili said one of the access bridges was damaged and two chalets were swept away by the strong current of Sungai Mesilau in the landslide and mudfloods that followed.Sabah Parks is currently planning to survey a new access road to the resort, as it was too costly to rebuild the bridge. Dr Jamili estimated the cost at around RM25 million.Nevertheless, Dr Jamili said Kinabalu Park and Poring are safe, the only concern being the mountain which is still filled with loose rocks and boulders between Laban Rata to Sayat Sayat.This is why climbing is restricted till August as the park determined a new and secured route to the peak.
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Another concern is potential water shortage after much of the foot of the mountain suffered bald spots without any vegetation to absorb excess water from the rain. He said the streams along the mountain could easily spillover each time heavy rainfall happens.The Sabah Parks group visited the families Robbi Sapinggi, Valerian Joannes, Ricky Masirin and Joseph Solungin and handed over cash donations and cooking essential items. It is the statutory body's contribution to the guides. Also present was the Sabah Parks Chairman Datuk Tengku Adlin Zainal.
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Daily Express understands that paid bookings of more than RM1m had to be refunded following the tragedy. There are some 60 resorts in operation although only seven have occupancy certificates issued by the local authority.A budget hostel operator said most of the cancellations were made by West Malaysians and Hong Kongers who had booked to climb Mount Kinabalu.One resort operator, Voon, who had invested more than a million ringgit in his six-month operation had to refund more than RM26,000 the same day to customers with bookings made right up to Christmas 2015."The collapse of the bridge near the Kundasang Golf Club and the electricity power lines and water pipe ruptures have affected not just my resort but several others which have stopped operation," Voon said.It is not just the travel agents, resorts, hotels or hostels in Sabah that bore the brunt of cancellations of hundreds who intended to climb Mount Kinabalu, but homestay operators also claimed a drop in guests.The H. Bin Benjamin Resort here also closed besides a few others. Philip Vun of Philip Garden Resort, one of the seven resorts with OC, appealed for help to reconnect the electricity and water supply as the Government had promised to act to restore services and rehabilitate the damages.Vun said he called SESB Ranau and the authority promised to restore electricity supply with the reconnection to down power lines but has yet to act, citing difficulty in transporting electricity poles as its lorry could not pass through the alternative road off the Ranau-Tamparuli Highway at Kg Kibbas' Jalan Lipasu to Mesilau via Jalan Jalan Kg Mentaki.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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