Developments should be planned appropriately and follow proper guidelines, said caretaker Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal when launching the Kota Kinabalu Landscape Beautification Blueprint (2021-2025) at Taman Chong Thien Vun here on Monday.

“There must be proper guideline to the people, irrespective of who they are. Developments cannot be contractor-driven.”

He said developments could not be simply approved just because the person has ‘the right link at the top’.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal. Photo source: Sinar Harian

In order to maintain the beauty of Kota Kinabalu, he said the should be proper planning to avoid instances such as the mixture of shops, houses, church and car dealers from Likas to Tuaran.

The blueprint included proposals to upgrade and beautify the city centre, upgrade and develop public parks, beautify smaller townships, building archways at the main gateways into the city and beautify the main roads.

Shafie said Kota Kinabalu was a beautiful city that could not be found anywhere else in Malaysia due to its location facing the South China Sea, which the city should take advantage of.

“Kota Kinabalu is a beautiful city, but its beauty depends on how we manage it.”

He said the blueprint outlined the development agendas to improve the beauty, cleanliness and comfort of the city to the benefit of the residents and tourists. Not only would it include improvements in the landscape to attract visitors, but also facilities that benefitted locals and opportunities for small businesses.

Besides proper planning to ensure the beauty of the city, he said the people, especially children, must be educated on keeping the environment clean and refrain from littering.

Flyovers and road widening is not the answer
On another note, Shafie said traffic congestion in the city could not be solved with building more flyovers or widening the roads alone.

For example, he suggested implementing a schedule for vehicles delivering fresh produce from Ranau or Keningau to Kota Kinabalu, such not allowing them to enter the city after a certain time in the morning.

He said this would avoid traffic congestion caused by lorries or trucks carrying vegetables and motorists who wanted to do shopping at the centre.

Shafie also lamented at the poor public transportation system in Kota Kinabalu. He said public transportation should be embedded in the planning to discourage vehicles from coming into the city.

Under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), the State Government has channeled RM6 million to the Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) for beautification projects.

Under the 12MP (2021-2025), the State Government will allocate RM9.7 million, an increase of RM3.7 million, to continue the implementation of the beautification projects in the city.

^{Reference:
Facebook Watch. 2020. I Accidentally Became A Meme: Kombucha Girl. [online] Available at: <https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=637282957224382&extid=KP07ezaasjhWTDXy> [Accessed 11 September 2020].}