Pitas' wealth of legends has massive 'dark tourism' draw

 By Olivia Miwil - September 30, 2021 @ 4:41pm

Supirak island that has the shape of a boat in Pitas. -Pic courtesy of Norhaslam Adin

PITAS: The Pitas district, with its wealth of history and legends, has the potential to draw a more diverse tourism crowd, including those interested in 'dark tourism'.

Tun Mustapha Park manager (community and stakeholders affairs) Norhaslam Adin said the district is home to many places with a wealth of stories which could be developed further.

The Supirak Tourism Association, for example, has a tourism package at Kampung Malubang, which focuses on the legend of a woman named Supirak who cursed her son for not acknowledging his poor family upon his return home after making a fortune from his voyage.

Legend has it that the son and his ship, as a result of the curse, were turned into stone, thus giving birth to the legend of how Supirak Island, which is shaped like a ship, came into being.

The district is also home to the eroded Batu Lok Dangkaan bridge, built in the 1940s, which was used as a business centre for the villagers.

Another atrraction is the Tapukan cave, which was used as a shelter by guerillas during the Japanese occupation and can accommodate about 2,000 people at a time.

Norhaslam said the area has the potential to be developed as a tourist destination or dark tourism in addition to existing products.

"The community here has close collaborations with Sabah Parks.

"We also want to assist them by reducing their dependency on depleting marine resources and instead, increase their livelihoods (through tourism)," he said during a sharing session on potential dark tourism destinations at the Tunku Mustapha marine park on the Sabah Parks' Facebook page.

Norhaslam said feedback from the community on the possibility of the areas that could be promoted as dark tourism sites, has been positive.

He said Kudat, which is also part of the 898,762.76 hectare-marine park, also offers several sites which could be further promoted.

These include the Tanjung Periuk promontory off Balambangan island, which was the site of the British East India Company from 1773 until 1775 and its caves, which have become a draw for treasure hunters.

At Banggi island, Batu Hairan is also a subject of a interest after it emerged on April 14, 1988, only to submerge on Feb 25, 1990.

More potential draws include the 12 shipwrecks and artefacts found off the marine park, which could attract wreck divers.