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Kota Kinabalu: The number of climbers to Mount Kinabalu using the new climbing route has been limited to between 100 to 120 people a day during the two-month trial period from Dec 1, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun. He said the decision was to ensure that the new route was suitable for use by the climbers and to identify any weaknesses.

The new route from Laban Rata to Sayat-Sayat to the peak of Mount Kinabalu to replace the old route which was damaged following the magnitude 6.0 earthquake on June 5, was now ready for use.

"Another route from Kota Belud will only be completed in February," he said after opening a Seminar on Firefly and Tourism Sustainability organised by University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Faculty of Business, Economics and Accounting.

Meanwhile, Masidi called on scientists to carry out research on the fireflies ecosystem to be made as a guide or source of reference to protect the fireflies from extinction and to enable it to remain as one of the state's tourist attractions. "We want to know the fireflies in its scientific terms and what are the dos and don'ts for humans to preserve the fireflies habitat," he said.

According to the Minister, at present, there exist two fireflies parks in Sabah, namely in Rampaian in Kota Belud and Klias in Beaufort.