AlwaysWoW! For a Great Great WoW in Life

Thoughts from me about things that are cool, that are WoW, that blow me away. Observations about businesses and people from a wide variety of life. Daily encounters - and thoughts outside the box, inside the box and without any box. New thinking, and challenging old thinking. Passionate about life, about respect, and about integrity.

Monday, September 06, 2004

Tioman and the Marina - Some definitions about a plan to destroy (sorry, develop ??) a beauty



Definition Marina - a small port that is used for pleasure rather than trade, often with hotels, restaurants and bars (http://www.freesearch.co.uk/dictionary/marina).


Definition Tourism - Synopsis: Tourism is classically regarded as travelling for recreation although this definition has been expanded in recent years to include any travel outside of one's normal working or living area (http://www.pro-researcher.co.uk/encyclopaedia/english/tourism).

Tioman Island - I was there once, and while I didn't like it too much (my mistake, it was shortly after rainy season and everything was kind of urgh), I read somewhere in a travel guide that it is one of the 11 most beautiful islands in the world.

Someone has a plan - they want to build a marina for RM 40 million. According to The Star Malaysia (where the picture is coming from), "the project spans 127,000 sq metres and is expected to provide yacht docking areas, an administration building, water breakers and a cargo jetty which is expected to be 30m wide at the tip and stretches 175m into the sea.

The marina will threaten the survival of more than 200 endangered giant clams, 300-year-old corals and other marine life which thrive within it.".

I say that this is WoW - I just came at the wrong time. A lot of tourists want to see this. This area can be developed in an ecological sensible manner. No need to destroy. It can upgrade the skills of the villagers.

But not in the way the marina is planned - according to this news, the marina as planned will destroy this beauty. Let's hope that Dato' Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah), once again, will veto the project.

Malaysia hopes to develop its tourism - tourism is already quite a cashcow for the country. But there are many, many areas where Malaysia still needs to develop. An environmental mindset is one that is needed (see my entry about Redang Island at http://alwayswow.blogspot.com/2004_03_01_alwayswow_archive.html) - I was a so-called "tree hugger" when I was younger (I was much more, but leave it at this), and I am proud of every tree that I hugged and saved.

Malaysia is too beautiful to be commercialised. In the end of the day, 5 years or 10 years down the road, they have to re-do all the corals again, regretting that there was no voice of opposition to this plan - but here is one that speaks up loud and clearly.

Say no to the marina in Tioman.

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