One of the rivers in Beluran that has abundant wildlife
KOTA KINABALU: The Beluran east coast district, some 200km from here, has all the attraction in terms of flora and fauna as well as culture but continues to lag behind compared to other districts in tourism.
According to former culture, youth and sports assistant minister Datuk Tan Yong Gee, this was because there was a lack of tourism projects or programmes by the government that could boost the sector.
He contended that there have been little funds channeled to Beluran, adding focus had been given to other districts to develop their tourism industry.
"The government needs to ensure that Beluran is given equal attention when it comes to tourism development," he said, in a statement here on Friday (July 14).
Tan, a former assemblyman for Labuk, which is within the Beluran parliamentary area, also urged state tourism authorities to put in more effort to promote potential tourist destinations in the district.
He said Beluran possessed forest reserves as well as a diverse wildlife and unique cultural heritage.
Datuk Tan Yong Gee
"But tourists seem to flock to neighbouring Kinabatangan and Sandakan to visit the forests and discover the wildlife there.
"Beluran has the exact same potential but no one comes to visit," he added.
He noted that the proboscis monkeys, with its distinctive nose, were among the array of wildlife that could be seen along the Pimpin River.
And at night, Tan said, the banks of the river, which is a mangrove forest reserve, would be lit up with fireflies.
Another potential attraction is the Mandagu waterfall located along the Klagan River.
"This waterfall can only be accessed by boat. However, there is no proper infrastructure for people to access the waterfall.
"There is also a natural structure that looks like a bow of a ship nearby that has no proper access and can only be photographed from the boat," he said.
Towards this end, he proposed that promotion of tourism potential be initiated at the district level and to be spearheaded by the District Office.
The District Officer, he said, should ensure that the Tourism Action Committee is active to identify potential tourism products or attractions.
"The committee should get the involvement of tourism associations who would have better knowledge of tourism products and destinations and together they should sit and come up with project or programme proposals.
"The committee will then bring those proposals to the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry," he said, the ministry could then consider to allocate funds for the development and promotion of these products or destinations.
Tan also called on the private sector as well as local communities to initiate tourism products in Beluran.
"While it is important for the government to help us, sometimes tourism requires effort from private companies," he said.
