This sad situation was disclosed by none other than the Minister of Tourism of Sabah himself.Then again the state government is bound by contract and nothing much can be done. So fellow Sabahans forget about climbing Mt Kinabalu at least once a year like before,thanks to the "wise" state government!
The state government is wise or not,I am not so sure,but they are definitely smart to let the private management company to hold the controlling card in approving the mount climbing permit.
Why it is smart,let me explain.
The Tourism Minister said the high price is due to the tour operators bundling every thing into a single package.From the surface it seems to make sense, but the real truth is the state government has allowed the private management company to manipulate the permit application such that nobody will get the permit unless they go through "the company". The National Park Warden will not approve the permit if the applicant does not meet any of the following requirement:
- proof of booking for accommodation for the night halfway up the mountain
- two experience mountain guides
- must begin the climb early in the morning
- properly prepared for the climb
Very reasonable and not difficult to comply, right? Wrong, item #1 is the secret.The accommodation (rest house at Laban Rata,pic at left)is run by the company in question.When the company is entrusted to run this rest house,they convert it into a luxurious setting,hence justifying them to charge a high price.
Under other Chief Ministers before the current one, the rest house mentioned above had very simple furniture, with dormitory type of beds,climbers sometimes have to sleep in sleeping bags.But the fees were very affordable so almost all climbers rushed to book and stayed in here. When it was fully booked then the late comers had to stay in zinc huts further up the slope(about 5 minutes climb)as shown here. The situation is the other way round now, people rush for the huts,when all the huts are taken,then only they will book into the rest house.The Tourism Minister announced that the abandoned construction project for a new rest house will be revived,so that more rooms will be available when it is completed.
(The project was stopped because the contractor used bomb to clear some boulder for the foundation works.This practice was widely criticised for it may damage the slope structure of Mt Kinabalu,may even cause Mt Kinabalu to lose its status as a world Heritage site.)
But I doubt the strategy will ever work if the state government privatises the new rest house also. We will be back to square one again.
2 comments:
Hi,
I totally agree with what you posted, except that you got your fact on the Chief Minister wrong! The situation that we were put in has nothing do do with the Current Chief Minister as the facilities were privatized in 1998, and the one responsible to give it to Sutera was the Ex Tourism Minister who resigned not too long ago. And incidentally, it was also during this ex Minister's time that you said they 'bombed' the mountain to construct the new rest house.
So please be a little bit more responsible if you want to blog. Have your facts checked, otherwise, you are doing a dis-service to the rest of Sabahans.
Oh...the Chief Minister has not control over a member of his cabinet meh? If we all agree it is a mistake,the CM should find way to correct it. We are not talking about cancelling the contract right out, but the government should make Sutera not to forget the rights and benefits of Sabahans to enjoy the natural heritage without paying through our nose. Meaning: be reasonable, we are not asking for too much. I'm sure,being smart business men they will definitely oblige with the request of the government.
BTW, please register with Blogger to get a username. If you don't know how, just click on the blue "quick tour" button.
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