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By Sharanjit Singh. IT'S New Year's day and like it or not 2011 is here. If the soothsayers and doomsday watchers are to be believed, us earthlings have just another year to go before our planet will either be blown to smithereens by an asteroid or destroyed by some other natural disaster. Yes sir, if one were to believe these alarmist predictions, and as much as I hate to spoil anyone's New Year celebrations, the countdown to the end has begun. But hold your horses everyone. The last time I checked Nasa's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) website, there were no space rock or other alien object headed on a collision course with planet Earth anytime soon.
Neither are there any predictions of major disasters being reported by any of the other agencies worldwide which could spell trouble for us So rejoice, it looks like Earth may be around a little longer. Now that it has been established that we will be around for a while longer, the local authorities in Penang cannot afford to sit by idly and watch the conditions at the Batu Feringghi beach deteriorate further. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, if the feedback I received based on last Monday's article on the goings-on at the beach is anything to go by, then we are headed for trouble. And I mean real trouble. It's not only locals and residents who wrote in to voice their concern but also foreigners who had shortened their stay in Penang after encountering nasty experiences on the beach. A foreign couple staying at one of the most exclusive resorts cancelled their Christmas holidays in Penang after three disappointing days here. I reproduce here two comments regarding the state of affairs at the beach, one from Hatem Ladjimi, a Tunisian-Swiss travel agent who was in Penang on holiday, and another from a resident who had imagined he was retiring on a quiet and serene island only to discover the opposite. An excerpt of the letter from Hatem reads: "Dear Sir, you can't imagine how happy I am this morning when I discovered your article while lying on my bed waiting for my spouse to finish packing our suitcases. We are leaving the resort where we had spent five nights. "Everything was perfect except for the problems you mentioned. "I have been in the tourism business since 1979, representing major Swiss tour operators and I travel a lot. I have never seen such mess, noise, pollution and annoying beach boys at the doorstep of a hotel. "We are here with our 8-year-old boy. We do not allow him to go to the beach because of the danger caused by the quads, jet skis and para-sailing ropes. "Malaysia and Penang are marvellous tourism destinations, but be assured, if the authorities do not act quickly the destination will suffer and the results will be dramatic," it said. The other writer, who only identified himself as Paddie, wrote: "Dear Sir, as a long-time visitor and resident of Batu Feringghi, it is sad indeed that it has become very dangerous to go on the beach. I recall a time when I was able to walk and swim safely; now it's impossible to do anything safely on the beach. I asked one of the prime jet-ski operators where I could swim safely -- the reply I got was in a local dialect but I assumed it was something offensive by the look on his face. "The morning jet-ski rush starts about 9.30am when touts rush out to outperform each other and race their mates from the shore line, stirring up silt and sand. After that, it gets worse as breakfast is accompanied by exhaust fumes. It is not a pleasant start to any day. "I had been considering Penang and Batu Feringghi as a long-term retirement home but no longer. There are quieter and cleaner beaches in other states in Malaysia." The long running saga and the sad state of affairs at Batu Feringghi has reached a boiling point. The media, hoteliers and guests have spoken at length about their concerns. A recent poll by the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) also showed that the public wanted the sports activities at Batu Feringghi to be regulated. The beach activities are hazardous and have become an international embarrassment for Penang. The world may not be ending soon but unless something is done, the demise of Batu Feringghi as a popular beach holiday destination is imminent. ** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the Jan 1, 2010 issue of New Straits Times. Sharanjit is NST's Penang bureau chief.
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