SEMPORNA, Aug 11 — Sabah Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun has called on all quarters to work together to make Semporna a clean city and attract more tourists from all over the world.
He said although Semporna is known for its beautiful islands and unique marine treasures, failure to maintain cleanliness will affect its ability to remain a tourist attraction in the state.
He added that the people of Semporna and Sabah would get to enjoy various benefits, especially in terms of socioeconomic growth if the tourism sector can be developed.
“It is not impossible to make Semporna one of the cleanest cities in the world if all parties work together to maintain cleanliness, whether on land or at sea.
“If we love this district, we have to change our attitude and strive to make Semporna the cleanest city in the world,” he said in his speech when launching the Garbage Collection Service Project in Semporna waters here today.
Masidi said in addition to garbage collection, efforts such as planting flowers on the side of the road and introducing more awareness programmes could inculcate a habit of cleanliness among residents in the district.
In a press conference after the ceremony, he said the garbage collection project would be more effective with the involvement of the people, including the Pala’u community in the area.
Meanwhile, a representative of Amwil Deslen Management and Supplies, Lionor Malik, said the company started the garbage collection service in November last year.
“We use nine boats for this project and every day, more than one metric tonne of garbage can be collected. We also provide garbage traps in tourism focal points including tourism jetties,” she said, adding that the operation started from 8 am to 4 pm.
According to Lionor, the company also purchases recyclable waste from local residents at 20 sen per kilogramme and the public can send the items to the collection centre in Kampung Sri Aman, Simunul here.
