Move to make Turtle Island a tourist destination

KOTA KINABALU: Businessman turned politician Mohd Faizal Jamalul plans to work closely with the Sabah government in levelling-up business and tourism opportunities for all the stakeholders concerned.

“If given the mandate in the midterm election in May, I will seek the cooperation of our neighbour in Sabah to develop the Municipality of Taganak, also known as ‘Turtle Island’ into a tourist destination and gateway for cross-border trading between Sabah and Southern Mindanao,” he said after officially filing his certificate of candidacy for the mayoral race in Taganak.

The country’s ARMM BIMPEAGA president said the island municipality, which is very close to Sandakan, was blessed with many beautiful beaches, plentiful marine life and other gifts from Mother Nature apart from an ideal location for cross- border commercial trading with Sabah.

The municipality with little over 3,000 voting population is also a perfect place to glance the presence of Dugongs which are air-breathing mammals belonging to the Order Serenia, Jamalul said, adding that these are some of the products that the municipality will be able to entice both local and foreign visitors in the near future.

The young and energetic politician who is a native of Tawi-Tawi said : “If given the opportunity, I will construct a holiday resort to cater for room accommodation of visitors, and the security in the area will be boosted with cooperation from the relevant authorities from Malaysia and Philippines.”

The Zambasulta Traders Association president also stressed stringent security measures will be enforced in the area to discourage criminals including terrorists from taking advantage of the strategic location of the municipality.

To ensure safe and legal movements of people, Jamalul said there was also a need for the local government unit to request from the Manila government the stationing of Immigration Department officers in Taganak.

Meanwhile, Jamalul is an official mayoral candidate under the banner of Partido Federalismo Ng Pilipinas which is in alliance with President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.