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NO OTHER district in Sabah felt so wealthy like Semporna even just five months ago. Suddenly, a hitherto unsung little backwater town caught the fancy of Chinese tourists who started to flock to it by the thousands for reasons they knew best, and dumped millions, if not billions into the local economy.The magic appeal I heard was the irresistible beauty of its islands and crystal clear water. But when Covid-19 struck like a thunder bolt, it shattered the goose that lays the golden egg.

It has collapsed. What’s left are forlorn structures of world-class resorts – abandoned. It’s an unbelievable sight and plight that hit so swiftly. But it is not good to be overzealously pessimistic. General Douglas Macarthur once said: “I shall return.” 

A dose of good politics may help This time, a little bit of good politics may do just that – return of both Chinese and European tourists. “A core idea of politics is solve people’s plights as fast and as effectively as possible,” said Assistant Minister to the Chief Minister, Datuk Jimmy Wong.

To fight the coronavirus, Sabah mounted a sudden and complete lockdown, shut its doors to all foreign tourists since March 18. The result is sudden collapse of tourist  arrivals from Chinese and European markets alike.

Cash flow vanished overnight, hundreds of jobs lost – leading to severe human suffering. This is Semporna’s plight, the moment of truth at the epi-centre of the diving industry in Sabah. The word is pathetic!

         

 

 

                                                                                     

 

 

 

 

Mataking Dive Resort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The deserted Mataking bar. 

Down to ground zero “Zero tourists for three months, down from a flood of 90pc Chinese and 10pc Europeans in our golden hey days,” sighed veteran tour master Datuk Dzagoff Ang K.C., affectionately called “Uncle Chang”. Once packed to the hilt nearly every night, the 300-capacity dining hall of top dog Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort was empty, a deserted top class outfit on June 26.

At its prime, Kapalai had 200 staff but only 30 were retained.

Next day, we sped over to the world famous Sipadan which looked amazingly greener and better than ever before but the number of paying divers?  Just a foursome from Kuala Lumpur.    

                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spectacular Sipadan Kapalai Dive Resort.                                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two of the only 30 retained staff (out of 200) at the Kapalai Dive Resort. 

But seeing only two places don’t give a complete picture of the misery, I told Jimmy. On June 29, we spent the whole day cruising around spectacular Bohaydulang, Bodgaya islands which are actually the shattered rims from a massive volcanic blow up five million years ago, landing later on the second and third biggest outfits – Mataking Dive Resort and Pom Pom Island Resort.

The beaches of Pom Pom especially are world class. But the situation is the same – forlorn, pitifully sad, abandoned and lonely – not one soul around, not even anyone in a guardhouse, tourists have fled, everything is closed, staff vanished.      

                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                          Uncle Chang

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jimmy purchasing fresh fish from water villagers behind Bohaydulang. 

RM8.5 billion revenue gone?

In 2019, 4.2 million arrivals generated RM8.5 billion cash flow in Sabah. But in one fell swoop, the whole industry had crashed to ground zero, about four times the size of Malaysian population, choked by a total ban on non-essential travel since March 18.

To divert somewhat, 122 million in India lost their jobs, world airlines combined lost US$113 billion, UK economy shrank 35pc, global oil prices plunged 47pc , EU GDP fell 7.5pc, factory production in China plunged the sharpest in three decades. The United Nations think the crisis could cost global tourism up to US$3.3 trillion in lost revenue by year end.