Stop exaggerating the Sipadan incident, says Deputy Chief Minister May 25, 2006
Posted by Andy Carroll in : Conservation, Travel , trackbackUnderwater Times have copied an article from bernama.com (Don’t you just hate it when there is no link to the source) regarding the recent incident at Sipadan when a construction company used a large barge to transport building materials to the island rather then a smaller ‘kompit’ boat originally granted in their application.
There was an uproar and many news organisations and websites condemning the whole thing talking about the destruction of the reef and the Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat has finally asked the media to stop exaggerating.
Speaking to reporters after briefing the cabinet on the Sipadan issue, here Wednesday, Chong who is also the State Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment said the damage was not substantial, where only 0.1 per cent of Sipadan’s 208 hectares of ecosystem was affected by the incident.“The damage to the corals has been blown out of proportion. Last weekend, Sabah Parks sent in a team of qualified officers and divers to do a survey headed by Dr Jamili Nais, Assistant Director of the Sabah Parks, who is himself a qualified diver.
“They came back yesterday. The findings of the survey were contrary to the report in the internet and by all the so-called concerned people.
“I just came back from Kuala Lumpur after briefing the Chief Secretary of the Government. News in Kuala Lumpur (said that the damage) is 2-3 kilometres of corals near an area known as Abdillah Point (drop-off). All this was blown out of proportion. Actually the area affected was just 3,984 square feet (372.2 square metres),” Chong said.
The whole Sipadan Island ecosystem or coral reef surrounding the island is about 208 hectares and the island (land area) itself is only about 13.5 hectares.
“We thank them (foreign media) for their concern. But stop the exaggeration. Be rational. Malaysians and Sabahans especially are as concerned as anybody (else) in the world when it comes to conservation and preservation of the environment.
Chong stated that the construction works were necessary to prevent human waste being directly dumped into the sea and consist of public facilities like sewerage, a clubhouse and toilets for tourists and divers.
Comments»
Here’s the link: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=199410
IMHO, UT needs to re-think its linking etiquette. Copying-and-pasting pre-printed material and just linking to “Bernama.com” is NOT citing the source.
I agree Willy. It is annoying when sites do that.