Kota Kinabalu And Sandakan Some Lessons In Development (Conclusion)

On the next day, we proceeded to the marine park fronting KK in the islands of Sapi and Manukan. While there are hundreds of islands all over Sabah, 5 islands have been designated as marine parks, to be conservation and responsible tourism centers. As fishing is restricted in these areas, fish abound, so that even at waist deep waters, fish as large as 12 ft. grabbed the bread from our hands, and the waters are so clear, you can see fish and corals up to 10 ft. down. Another island had a giant clam research station, which rehabilitates all species. Giant clams that have been displaced by diving, snorkeling, illegal fishing, improper anchoring, and over harvesting are returned to their natural habitat. They are now into culturing and propagating them, as they are also doing the same to damaged corals and a variety of fishes that are in danger of extinction. Annexed to this Research Station, is a 5-star 40 room Gayana Eco-Resort, which has state of the art amenities and a spectacular view of the sea. I believe the whole point is to show that tourism and development can live side by side with ecological conservation. This is the proof.  

Shangri-la Tanjung Aru was our last stop for dinner. Like all Shangri-la resorts, it is designed and laid out to blend and complement the environment. We were pleasantly surprised that we were hosted by a Cebuano, the hotel’s Director of Sales Jun M. Cordova. The Mactan Shangri-la can hold its own in terms of amenities and opulence, but their view is probably better due to its location. 

Sabah and the cities of KK and Sandakan have not been spared of the effects of the global recession, as evident from the lesser people in the malls and the drop in property prices. Condominiums, townhouses, apartments are 30% cheaper than Philippine prices now, while they were at the same level before the recession. The poverty incidence in the whole of Sabah, however is in the 18 percent range, which is half the Philippine’s poverty incidence. Their per capita income is double that of the Philippines, even as it is already lower than the per capita income of the whole of Malaysia. Partly, this is due to their much smaller population of only over 30 million as against the Philippine’s over 90 million. But it can be argued that their federal system of government, which gives more autonomy to the states, has done a good job of developing Sabah, particularly KK and Sandakan. 

I have been to other parts of Malaysia like Langkawi, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur, and no doubt these are all beautiful places. I found Brazil also a very beautiful country. But I have also been around the Philippines and we have places that can equal or are even better than these places. The task of social and economic development is for us to preserve or enhance the beautiful places in our country, without destroying the environment. This can only be done by improving the living standard of the people so that they do not have to destroy or damage the environment to survive.