After the dramatic debate on the proposed 300MW coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu in the east coast of Sabah subsided, another debate is brewing, this time over the building of a 16-storey mixed commercial development near the historic Atkinson Clock Tower in the heart of the city.

It all started when the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report submitted by a developer for a proposed shopping mall in the vicinity of the city's oldest surviving colonial structure was rejected by the Department of Environment (DOE) recently.

The issue is far from over. Instead, a debate is taking centre stage.

In defending the project, Sabah Housing and Town Development Authority (SHTDA) chairman Rubin Balang said yesterday that the proposed mixed-commercial development project would not have a negative impact on the 105-year-old tower.

Rubin was also quoted as claiming that efforts were also taken in the joint-venture project between SHTDA as the landowner and a private developer to enhance the aesthetic value of the clock tower.

    

However, his contention evoked mixed reactions especially from city folk with some likened the ongoing debate to a crucial choice between saving the Atkinson Clock Tower or allowing a commercial development in the area.

Social activist Patrick Sindu said the Atkinson Clock Tower, one of the state's historical sites, should be protected at all cost.

"It seems that Kota Kinabalu city has a ' rojak ' (haphazard) development plan especially in the Signal Hill vicinity. I believe we still have land in other areas of Kota Kinabalu that is suitable to put up the proposed project.

"We must bear in mind the historical value of the clock tower. It is the oldest standing structure in Sabah that survived the air raids and blitz of World War II.

"Why should we disturb the natural landscape of the historical clock? Why not find another place for the project?" he told Bernama in Kota Kinabalu today.

Respect DOE's decision

Patrick said for whatever excuses or justifications, there was no guarantee that there would be no landslides once the original landscape of the adjoining land was "disturbed".

"Anything can happen as far as natural disaster is concerned. That's why we must together get ready for any eventuality, and one of the possible solutions is to scrap the project altogether for the common good of the people and the state," he said.

In this respect, he urged the Sabah government to be firm in protecting the Atkinson Clock Tower and its surrounding areas.

The Atkinson Clock Tower was gazetted as a protected area in 1997 under the Cultural Heritage (Conservation) Enactment 1997.

Patrick hoped that the state government would also respect the DOE's decision to reject the EIA report for the project as was the case in the proposed coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu.

- Bernama