watersports activities in penang – either regulate them or ban them!

see, what i told you! when i blog about a para-sailing accident about a month back, i had mentioned all dangerous watersports activities in penang should be banned. the penang beaches is just not big enough for watersports.

that para-sailing accident involving a young girl happenned on 31 dec. 2010 and now, on 5 feb. 2011, we suddenly heard of another accident again.  this time it was where a water scooter rammed into a 47 years old japanese lady.

in an immediate reaction after the accident, the state government had ordered a temporary ban on all watersports activities. however, the following day, the watersports operators seemed to ignore the ban and the watersports activities were going on as usual. oh well, they will say they need to ‘cari makan’ (made a living) so they ignore the ban.

ok then perhaps watersports activities should be allowed but then as marco battistotti, penang global tourism (PGT) director so rightly said, these activities should be regulated. he had said:

“Our stand is not to ban or cancel the services. Obviously, there is a demand for the watersport and beach activities. The activities by themselves are not illegal but those who are providing the services should be regulated,” he said.

Battistotti said he worked in 11 countries and had travelled widely and had not come across any other place where such activities were not regulated.

oh dear! how shameful for malaysia! notice he said he worked in 11 countries, traveled widely and had not come across a country such as our dear country that does not regulate watersports activities.  what an embarrassment to our country! but then again we shouldn’t feel surprise  this being bolehland. yeah even under the PR government, they seems to be so  lackadaisical in such matters.

i do hope the authorities will listen to marco battistotti.  in fact, during the para-sailing accident in dec. last year, which i blog on, he had already said the same thing. you can read it in my blog post that i did mentioned what he said.

ok, since, the links i posted from the star will disappear in 7 days time, i have CnP the report here.

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The Star
Sunday  February 6, 2011

Tourist hurt in freak accident
by Manjit Kaur

GEORGE TOWN: A Chinese New Year holiday turned into a nightmare for a Chinese tourist here when a water scooter rammed into her while she was taking a stroll on the beach in Batu Ferringhi.

Zhu Li, 47, was taking photographs of the scenery accompanied by five family members when the incident occurred at about 9am yesterday.

In an immediate move, the state government ordered a temporary ban on watersports activities on the beach.

In January, the authorities had banned horse riding and beach buggies (all-terrain vehicles) on the beaches there.

The water scooter mishap occurred at the stretch between the Lone Pine Hotel and Golden Sands Resort.

Two Myanmar nationals who were riding the machine tried to escape but were caught by beach boys and handed over to the police.

Zhu Li was sent to the Penang Hospital in an ambulance.

She is believed to have sustained serious injuries on both legs.

Distraught family members refused to talk to newsmen at the hospital.

It is learnt that this is their first trip to Penang.

An Australian at the scene, who declined to be named, said the speeding water scooter riders lost control when they tried to avoid colliding into another water scooter that was moored nearby.

A check with the Tanjung Tokong police station revealed that the two Myanmars did not have passports.

State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said he ordered the Penang Municipal Council to temporarily ban watersports activities in Batu Ferringhi.

He said the authorities have been urging beach sports operators to be careful when carrying out such activities.

“They don’t take responsibility when an accident occurs and instead try to flee when something goes wrong.

“This time, we will not tolerate any nonsense. We will ban these activities until we come up with proper rules.”

He said the zoning of watersports activities was in the pipeline.

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The Star
Sunday February 6, 2011

‘Regulate watersports activities’
by Priscilla Dielenberg

GEORGE TOWN: There is an urgent need for the state and local authorities to introduce some safety and security guidelines for all the operators of beach and watersport activities.

Penang Global Tourism (PGT) director Marco Battistotti said watersport and beach activities had to be regulated.

Battistotti, who is also the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang chapter chairman, said that the association had been calling for some regulations through the years.

“Our stand is not to ban or cancel the services. Obviously, there is a demand for the watersport and beach activities. The activities by themselves are not illegal but those who are providing the services should be regulated,” he said.

Battistotti said he worked in 11 countries and had travelled widely and had not come across any other place where such activities were not regulated.

“It is common sense, purely for insurance reasons. In the same way, when you drive a car, you have to have a licence, be of age, have passed the test, and be fit to drive,” he said.

There have been various accidents involving such activities in the past, including two recent incidents.

On Christmas Eve last year, seven-year-old Rina Aizawa from Japan was playing on the beach when a parasailing rope got hooked onto her neck, lifting her off the ground and dragging her for a short distance at the beach.

She was only freed when the parasailer fully landed, and suffered a laceration which left a red mark on her neck.

On Jan 18, Qian Tian Zi, 23, from China sustained leg injuries when she was about to be launched into the air during parasailing.

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The Star
Monday February 7, 2011

Operators ignore ban on watersports in Batu Ferringhi
by Manjit Kaur

GEORGE TOWN: Operators of watersport activities are still at it in Batu Ferringhi.

This is despite the state government’s temporary ban on such activities after a tourist was injured in a mishap involving a water scooter.

Chinese national Zhu Li, 47, sustained fractures on both her legs after the water scooter rammed into her while she was taking a stroll on the beach at the stretch between Lone Pine Hotel and Golden Sands Resort on Saturday.

A check by The Star showed that the operators were still operating parasailing and water scooter rides.

When queried, State Local Government and Traffic Manage­ment Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said he had already ordered the ban through the Penang Municipal Council’s enforcement unit. He said operators who defied the ban would have to face the music.

When The Star visited the beach for about an hour from 2pm, there was no sign of enforcement personnel from the council.

A spokesman for one of the hotels in Batu Ferringhi said it was business as usual for the operators.

He said although the ban was reported in The Star, the message had probably not reached the operators yet.

Council enforcement head Azman Sirun said 17 personnel were on stand-by at two locations in Batu Ferringhi.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president SM Mohamed Idris said it had been calling for the ban for several years.

“If the operators insist on having such activities then they should shift operations further, may be towards Monkey Beach near Muka Head,” he said.

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