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SEMPORNA: Marine debris pollution in waters off Semporna town is worsening, drawing public attention after a viral Facebook post by scuba diving instructor Aquila Chu showing trash, particularly plastic bottles, floating at sea.

Chu, 41, from Kota Kinabalu, who has been bringing foreign tourists to dive in Sabah since 2023, including to Sipadan Island, said he was disturbed by the deteriorating cleanliness around the town.

“Visit Semporna? Go direct to the islands if you do not want to see this part of town,” he wrote, adding that increased human activity inevitably leads to more rubbish.

Chu, a member of the Sabah Diving Squad Club (DDC), said many residents in water villages and on islands lacked access to proper rubbish collection facilities, describing the absence of disposal options as the main problem.

Meanwhile, DDC programme director and divemaster Yong Lip Khiong said similar domestic waste pollution was evident in waters off Kota Kinabalu, warning that plastic debris harmed marine life and stressing that ocean cleanliness was a shared responsibility of both authorities and the public.