Mayor of Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Yeoh Boon Hai announced that they have received Tanjung Aru Eco Development Sdn Bhd master plan and it will be considered under the Town and Country Planning Ordinance as a Scheme. The plan is now available for public viewing at City Hall Meeting Room 2. The public can buy a RM1 objection or comment form at the exhibition hall and send in their feedback or objection before 10 February, next year, 2017. It is important that the public understands and participates in the public consultation of this draft scheme that will change Tanjung Aru beach into a marina that will berth up to 200 vessels, 133ha of 18 hole golf retreat, seven hotels with 1,800 rooms in total and about 5,000 apartment and condominium units. Before you go to the exhibition of the Draft Scheme there are a few protocols to be aware of. It is important that you are prepared. Give yourself sufficient time, ask questions, take notes and pictures and remember it is a statutory process so you must know what responsibilities and obligations the ordinance places on the local authority but also what you are allowed and required to do as an objector. For example putting your comments and objections down in writing and submitting it within a certain time is critical to the whole exercise. Refer to the town and Country Planning Ordinance (Sabah Cap. 141). You can download it from the Internet. ww2.sabah.gov.my/mlgh/TownAndCountryPlanningOrdinance.pdf The City Hall Mayor also announced that the beach will be closed off in March 2017 when the reclamation works begins, giving the impression that the project has already been approved in advance and such public consultation is only just a procedural requirement rather than consultation. Please write to Save Open Space Kota Kinabalu (SOSKK) via email if you have any query about how to fill in the objection and comment form. Save Open Space Kota Kinabalu Email - saveopenspacekk@gmail.com