Viral taint: A TikTok video on Semporna’s filthiness, posted by travel influencer Backpacker Ben (left), will have a negative impact on Sabah’s tourism and the country’s reputation. — @backpacker_ben/TikTok
IT’S terribly disgraceful and a huge embarrassment for Malaysia. Unfortunately, there is some truth in it.
There is a video making its rounds on social media platforms around the globe which has referred to Semporna, a coastal town in Sabah, as “Asia’s Dirtiest Town’’.
The video, uploaded by an influencer called Backpacker Ben, will surely have a negative impact on Malaysia.
But he is not the only one who has reacted in that way. A search will show there have been many similar videos previously with harsher comments on what is the gateway to the most beautiful islands on earth.
The pole position as Asia’s dirtiest town is an exaggeration as there are far worse, but Semporna is indeed filthy.
I made a trip to Semporna last month and I can vouch that the town is filthy.
It is simply a reflection of the town’s pathetic waste management programme – or the lack of one.
This has been going on for decades. The inability of the municipal council to tackle the huge amount of trash around the town and in the waters is disappointing.
Piles of garbage line the streets, plastic floats in the bay, and open drains carry the stench of a systemic failure. To put it bluntly, the town actually stinks.
When tourists turn up at the Seafest Jetty to wait for boats to take them to the islands, they are immediately greeted with rubbish – mostly plastic bottles and polystyrene containers – floating everywhere.
There is plenty of finger pointing but basically no sustainable solutions.
Poor waste management infrastructure and lack of environmental education and enforcement are the immediate reasons. The low level of public awareness, especially among the many stateless Bajau Laut (sea gypsy) people living on their floating homes, has been blamed.
The situation has become so bad that plastics and other debris have washed up on the shores of nearby Mabul Island and surroundings.
It is an incredible experience snorkelling in the waters around the coral-ringed islands with their crystal-clear waters and abundance of sea creatures, especially turtles.
At the same time, it was heartbreaking to see floating rubbish on the surface.
Semporna is the gateway to the breathtakingly beautiful dive haven of Sabah. The low level of public awareness, especially among the many stateless Bajau Laut living on their floating homes, has been blamed for its rubbish problem. But the town’s pathetic waste management programme – or the lack of one – is also at fault. — EDDIE CHUA/The Star
As a Malaysian, it was hard to explain to travellers who had come from afar about the massive amount of rubbish in Semporna and the plastics around nearby islands.
Semporna is the gateway to some of the most breathtaking marine environments on Earth. Yet the town itself tells a very different story – one of neglect, pollution, and missed potential.
Up to over 2,000 China tourists visit the islands around Semporna each day, according to The Daily Express, yet we do not see an international class pier there.
There is also a serious lack of clean toilet facilities, with most arrivals rushing to a nearby mall – but the toilets there are hardly well kept, either.
The distance from the Tawau airport to Semporna is about 40 minutes.
Another report said an estimated half a million tourists pass through Semporna each year, “yet the basic sanitation services look more like those of a village, not an international destination”.
Our federal, state, and local council officials, business leaders, and local communities need to come together and reclaim Semporna.
Semporna MP Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal should know the issues well enough, having represented the constituency for so long.
He cannot fend off matters by stating that he does not sit in the council, in reference to the issues in Semporna. He cannot just wash his hands of the problem.
Shafie is also the state assemblyman for Senallang, which covers Semporna town and Mabul Island. He has served as a chief minister for Sabah.
While there is an international standard hotel at Mabul, there is also a run-down fishing village, carefully sealed up, which also has a horrible rubbish issue.
The dirty and neglected atmosphere at the village tells a sad story. It is populated by the sea nomads, with huge amounts of plastics and trash lying around, and poorly maintained areas, a stark contrast to the island’s well-kept resort.
If we don’t act now, we risk letting a national treasure become an international embarrassment.
We brand Semporna and the islands as the Maldives of the region but we will end up disappointing tourists.
Semporna must clean up – literally and systemically. The world is watching, and what they see today is unacceptable.
We have to invest in a modern, well-funded waste collection and recycling system with possibly a portion of tourism revenue reinvested directly into environmental protection and urban cleanliness programmes.
The people of Semporna will benefit from cleaning up the town and the waters. They rely on the sea for their food, income, and cultural identity.
There has to be community engagement and environmental education in schools, mosques, and villages, as it is everyone’s responsibility.
Semporna needs a stick-and-carrot approach if the stakeholders want to ensure it gets cleaned up. There has to be stricter regulation and enforcement, with rewards for those who help.
Right now, Semporna has failed to live up to its name. It is definitely not sempurna (perfect). In fact, it’s far from it.
