Pulau Sembilan now under Bagan Datoh administration

Pulau Sembilan 'Taman Negeri' (State Park) in Perak now comes under the Bagan Datoh district, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir announced Saturday.

It was previously under the Manjung district, but according to Zambry, the administrative transition was made to give Bagan Datoh a tourist spot.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had declared Bagan Datoh a new district in Perak on July 24.

"We had pursued this matter a long time ago (administrative transition) under the Perak Amanjaya plan to stimulate the development of the new district.

"Take care of this island well and make it a world famous tourist attraction," he said at the Bagan Datoh UMNO division meeting here.

Bagan Datoh was gazetted as the 12th district in Perak on June 15. It was previously was under the Hilir Perak district administration.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is Bagan Datoh MP, in his speech had requested the state government to put Pulau Sembilan under Bagan Datoh.

"If we compare Pulau Sembilan with Pangkor and Bagan Datoh, it (distance) is closer to Bagan Datoh," he said to thunderous applause from the 477 delegates present.

Pulau Sembilan is an area that involves a cluster of nine islands, namely Pulau Agas, Pulau Rayong, Pulau Nipis, Pulau Rumbia, Pulau Lalang, Pulau Buluh, Pulau Sagu, Pulau Batu Hitam and Pulau Batu Putih, which is located 10 nautical miles from the island of Pangkor.