KOTA KINABALU, March 15 — Sabah Parks today credited Glen Hapirulla for his discovery of Malaysia’s only “blue holes”, a unique marine sinkhole off Lahad Datu that adds to the state’s draw as a diving paradise.

The discovery was recently blemished by some bickering over who made the discovery, but Sabah Parks director Jamili Nais corrected reports that the state authority had claimed to be the first to chance upon the underwater occurrence.

“We wanted to correct any misconception that we are stealing credit from Glen, who has been diving there for nine years and brought people to these blue holes in the last two years. We would like to congratulate him and apologise for any inconvenience. It was not our intention to take credit for his discovery.

“We had actually launched a scientific expedition to the area with University Malaysia Sabah and Sabah Foundation, and invited Glen but he was away at the time in Singapore and couldn’t join us, and it was during the expedition we came to know about the blue holes,” Nais said at a news conference here.

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He clarified that the Lahad Datu-based diver was the person to make the ‘blue holes” discovery two years ago and that Sabah Parks will work with the local community to gazette the area as a protected marine area.

Blue hole is a term to describe a large marine sinkhole or cavern, open from the surface that looks like a blue ring from an aerial view. The blue hole in Lahad Datu, also known as “blue ring reef” to locals, is the only one in Malaysia.

There are two holes adjacent to each other, about 50 to 70 metres in diameter and between 15 to 20 metres in depth. Although research has yet to identify any uniqueness in marine wildlife in the blue hole, Hapirulla said that the holes are great for beginner divers due to the lack of currents in the hole.

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The holes are some 20 minutes by speedboat from shore.

Nais said that the area, relatively unknown compared to its Semporna counterparts, could be developed as a potential tourist hotspot and is also a prime candidate as a protected area.

“I first dove in Darvel Bay in 1990 and found the corals there damaged due to overfishing and coral bleaching. Thirty years later the conditions are still bad, but if we gazette it now, it can be rehabilitated for the future generation,” he said.

Hapirulla, who runs the Lahad Datu-based Pirate Divers said that he accepted the apology and was keen to move on and work with authorities to develop and improve the area for the community.

“I’ve been diving there for years but I first realised it was a blue hole when we flew a drone over the area. I posted it on Facebook but it did not garner a lot of attention until now,” he said.

Sabah Parks senior research officer Nasrulhakim Maidin said that the unique underwater structure could become a major tourist attraction such as the Great Blue Hole in Beliza, Blue Hole Dean in Bahamas and the Dragon Blue Hole in China.

He said the divers during the expedition stumbled upon the hole when a remote sensing map detected what it initially thought was a coral area and was excited with its findings.

He said that with rehabilitation, the blue hole could be a popular a tourist diving site, as it is strategically located near Sipadan Island in Semporna.