Building Castles In The Air ?

Hantu Laut

As a Sabahan it shocked me that there is a goldmine sitting right in front of my doorstep.

Most Sabahans wouldn't know of this goldmine called Pulau Montukod.

Brace yourself for the price tag, a whopping RM35 million for 17.2 acres.

Read:A rare pristine island in the heart of Borneo, ideal for ecotourism, a small luxury resort, or an exotic personal sanctuary.

The only fault you can kind find with the island is its English, it says in the heart of Borneo, which means it is somewhere in the central part of Borneo or thereabout.That would be somewhere in Kalimantan.

Actually, it is just a few kilometers off Kota Kinabalu.

Here's one in the Bahamas 24.69 acres for a mere US$2.3 million.

It's The New Mayor, Stupid!

Hantu Laut















Sunset at Tg.Aru Beach

I am not a friend of the former mayor nor the new mayor.What I am putting here is honest-to-goodness talk about the worsening state of affairs at Tg.Aru Beach, Kota Kinabalu.

I fully agree with the article here on the state of neglect of the beach by DBKK.

It has become worse with the present south westerly wind that brought and deposited debris from the water on to the beach.It has also become worse since the new mayor took over.This beach is only about 3 kilometres long yet the Mayor found it difficult to clean up.

Eyes behold the amount of garbage strewn the full stretch of the beach making it looking more like a rubbish dump rather than a beach.

In the past DBKK used to send workers to clean up the beach quite regularly.Below are photos I took about two years ago of DBKK workers cleaning up the beach.

















They even dug into the sand to remove shallowly buried plastic bags.It is now history.It is now left to nature to take its own course.

There have been cases of mugging and every Sundays hordes of "Mat Rempit" would be on their "Cap chai" terrorising beach goers and endangering children playing on the beach.They came in a big group so no one dare to stop them from doing their dangerous stunts on the beach.














It's about time DBKK wakes up and the police step in and nap these monkeys.

This City (Kota Kinabalu) Stinks

Hantu Laut

In better run economies many would have been sacked for incompetence. The couldn't care less attitude have robbed the people of getting the right amenities and clean environment that they rightfully deserved. After having paid for the services through various form of taxes Sabahans are still being short-changed by the lackadaisical attitude and corruptions in the civil service.Even basic necessities such as water and power have become a major problem for the state to deal with.It has become more difficult than rocket science to solve.So it seems.

The high frequency of power outage and water tap running dry have become outrageously shameful. It would have put most administrations to shame but Sabah civil servants seemed immune to shame.

Health care is another major hurdle that this government has been grappling with for many years and instead of getting major improvement it has gotten worse.

My visit to SMC (Sabah Medical Centre, taken over by the government recently) today to see a sick aunt foretells a looming disaster.I can sense inefficiency,incompetence and lackadaisical attitude coming its way.Out of three lifts only one seems to be working this morning.The other two might have been stopped to save electricity or under repair.I am waiting for the day, like in the old QEH (Queen Elizabeth Hospital), for the lift to start shivering before it starts its journey.

Sunset,Tg Aru Beach.Scouring for bi-valves.

A few days ago I took a walk along Tg Aru Beach.I have known this beach since my childhood days when the sand was still pure white and the water pristine. Passing by the first beach I was immediately greeted by the most nauseating smell ever, coming from a nearby drain that discharge its effluents into the sea.One can't imagine how once such pristine environment had been allowed to deteriorate to become appallingly unpleasant to the senses.There are about 6 to 7 of this kind of drains along the whole stretch of the beach between Shangrila Hotel and the airport discharging untreated sewage into the sea. Not only this beach stinks to high heaven almost everywhere else in town one can smell the drains and sewers.

First beach,Tg Aru

Go to the Waterfront in town and order your favourite drink and wait till the tide goes out.You will pick up the same revolting stench.The smell of shit.Next, go to the central market and the new esplanade in town and enjoy the same nasty smell greeting you.A little further a field, drive to Inanam/Kolombong area and the same nasty smell abounds but by than you would have lost your sense of smell.Your olfactory organs have become so used to the scent of shit somehow the shitty smell doesn't bother you anymore.That must be the case with the people at DBKK (Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu).Their olfactory organs have neutralised the smell of shit.

KK Waterfront

This is a beautiful city that have been ruined by endless supply of morons running it.It could have been the most beautiful city in the whole country. With its pristine beaches,islands,coral reefs and nearby mountains very few city in the world can match this one.A city that can give you 10 minutes boat ride to nearby islands with sandy beaches and crystal clear water and one hour drive to cooler mountain climate and primary forests.

After 46 years of independence, more than anything else, we have done more wrongs to the city.This city should have been expanded on a gridiron system.The old section of the city was built more or less on a grid system.If the urban planners have continued using the same system this small city wouldn't face traffic congestion today.Road construction and traffic flow would have been made easier .Downtown KK is not that big, yet there are traffic congestion most days.

The first to lead the way in bad urban planning was the old Sedco complex at Kampong Air, than came the Segama and Sinsuran complexes.To add insult to injury are the buildings of Api-Api and Asia City.Both are potential future ghettos of KK.Asia City is so badly planned one can easily be driving in a maze here.It would sooner join Bandaran Berjaya as the fleshpot of KK.

The city doesn't have long term environment protection plan.Sewerage and waste water are still allowed to flow to the sea affecting the nearby marine lives and coral reefs. Rightfully, it should by now have a proper and adequate central sewage and waste water treatment and disposal system in place.

The squatter colonies at Pulau Gaya, one of the main contributors of pollutants into the sea should have been resettled many years ago and the land taken over for development that could benefits the city.No politicians dare make the move.They can acquire thousand of acres of land from local landowners and pay peanuts to them for the KKIP (Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park) which has become one big white elephant but have no balls to kick out the illegals from this beautiful island.

Public amenities are still far from satisfactory.Many parts of the city's roads and residential areas still do not have adequate lighting.Public transport and taxis are not readily available and if they do they are bloody expensive.I once took a cab from Terminal 2 to the Kinabalu Yacht Club which is less than five minutes ride costing RM15.00.You can't argue with the cab driver because the fare from airports are set by the government.Those who set the fares have no inkling of some of the distances.It's just a simple case of laziness.

Try driving on the unlit roads and highways at night. The chances of you going off the road or hitting the kerb is pretty high especially on roads you are not familiar with because the road lines that supposed to help you keep on track at night have disappeared ages ago and those responsible to maintain it are fast asleep.

Most amazing is a project which I consider highly dangerous to airline passengers.This is the construction of a fly-over at the end of the KKIA runway.One would have thought there should be free open space at the end of runways in the event of planes overshooting the runway which is not a remote possibility.What were the engineers thinking when they designed the flyover or was it they have no clue that there is a runway right next to it? Shouldn't a tunnel be a better alternative? Even if the area has high water table simple solution of providing pumps would be sufficient as the tunnel is very short.

We are proud to be given the privilege of having the first submarine base here.The Federal government spent hundreds of million to build the base with one serious defect.It is only 1 kilometer away from the busy Sepangar port where all kind of boats and ships ply the waters.Too close for comfort.

Government departments not coordinating with each other is a common occurrence here, that's why it is common to see a newly sealed road dug up again few weeks later by another department.

It has become a vicious circle.

Related article:Tg. Aru Beach going green.

AIM F2000.No Spills And Thrills

Hantu Laut

Click on map for satellite image.

For nothing else better to do on this gloriously sunny Sunday morning , which the city haven't seen for many weeks due to the current wet spell, I , although not a great fan of speedboat formula racing decided to spoil myself to bask in the sun and armed with my camera hoping to capture some spills and thrills of the race.

This is the second year the UIM F2000 is staged at Kota Kinabalu.The venue was The Water Front, a popular hangout for both tourists and locals and a place where you can either savour a mixture of local and Western foods and drinks or sniff the sewers of the city especially when the tide is low.If you do come here, come when the tide is high.

Please click on photos to enlarge.










boardwalk, down by the sea,The Water Front.






the starting pit.


The final race on Sunday morning saw Italy's Alex Carella taking the chequered flag finishing the 35 laps of the 2.06 Km course in 33 minutes 31.77 seconds.






Alex Carella with the chequered flag


Britain's Colin Jelp who finished 2nd was crowned the world champion for third successive year.










the winning boat










the winning prop.










winner Alex Carella with Emiliano Ceresa,MD of Little Italy, a local sponsor.









not so lucky.

The F2000 is not a widely followed sport in the sense of the highly glorified F1 sport. Currently the season comprises only of four race avenues and Kota Kinabalu is the last round.The organisers are working on adding two more races next year.

Unfortunately, for all shutterbugs there were no thrills.It was a boring photographic outing.

Federal House Of Shame

Hantu Laut

The building below is the new Federal House also known as Mini Puterajaya, where most of the Federal departments are located.

This is one of those badly constructed buildings built by the Federal government.Sabah was not spared from this shameful actions of those given the projects.

Since its completion about a year ago huge chunk of tiles kept falling off its internal/external walls and ceiling.So far no serious accident or  injury has occured.The next time you are there it may be advisable to use a crash helmet, just in case.Keep watching the ceiling, it may come down on you, if you are unlucky.

In fact most of the federal-funded projects seem to suffer similar problems.Schools and hospitals suffered the same fate.

There were huge hospitals and schools built in the most unlikely places. Where hospitals were short of doctors, schools faced similar problem, shortage of teachers and surprisingly shortage of students too.If that's not enough, sub-standard materials and shoddy workmanship added to the pain and misery to those who have to use such buildings.

Some of them were projects just to line somebody's pocket with easy money.Many were built during our former Prime Minister's time.The one below was probably planned much earlier but built under the current administration.

Note the scaffolding.They are now doing repair work on the 

defects.They may have to remove the whole facade and replace

with lighter materials.More money?

Below is another shopping complex that opened it doors about a year ago.Known as 'Warisan Square' it is owned by the same developer that developed 1 Borneo.It sits smack in the middle of town. Most of the shops here are the same as those in 1 Borneo but smaller in size.

Poetic Sunset

                                   Click to enlarge

Hantu Laut

It's still no politics day.

Its kaleidoscope of colours can be most alluring, the changing hues of the darkening sky is like a cabaret in the heavenly sky.

It's one of the best sunset in this region if not the whole world.

Come to Tg.Aru Beach,Kota Kinabalu,Sabah where you can watch one of the most enchanting sunset.

New Faces Of Kota Kinabalu

Hantu Laut,

I'll take the Prime Minister's advice and take respite from politicking in the blog.It's bad for your health and bad for the health of the nation.

Today is no politics day, will not touch anything politics the next few days.

I would be happy to give my readers a guided tour of my hometown, the ugly and beautiful Kota Kinabalu.

 

I will start from the new to the older 

section of this pretty little city.

Latest addition to KK skyline is the

biggest hypermall in Borneo, ONE BORNEO, a wannabe ART DECO that falls flat on its face, didn't have the decadence and extravagance of the Art Deco of Miami, nor it succeeded in its attempt to be the ecclesiastical Gothic architecture.

Don't be deceived by its outward 

appearance, this building would 

probably be one of the most

functional buildings in KK when it is fully completed.The shopping archade is well designed with good layout, similar to KLCC in Kuala Lumpur.

Many medium-priced brands have set up shops here.Interior well lit,well-dressed windows and looks expensively intimidating.

Many KL-based yuppy restaurants have opened their doors here.

Had lunch in one of them today.One that has a dome in its ceiling and serves a mixture of Western and Oriental dishes.Had one of the worst 'fish and chip' as far back as I could remember.Just couldn't finish the two big chunks of what I presumed must be the rather bland dory, an imported fish that had become common in supermarkets and restaurants in this country over the past few years.

Considered a good food fish in the West, but not exactly a gastronomic experience for the Asian palate,especially those who are voracious fish eaters.Maybe, fish is not its strong point, I am sure it has some other good dishes that I haven't had the chance to try yet. The interior is chic,clinically clean, the service fairly good and staffs friendly and attentive.

The complex once completed will housed two hotels and two blocks of apartments.

Budget airline Air Asia has opened its Tune Hotel and Tune Store in the complex.

The only problem the complex is away from the town centre, about 6 Km from town.