RM200 mln upgrade on the cards for Pulau Besar, Pulau Sibu in Mersing

Mersing District Officer Asman Shah Abd Rahman said the allocation for development purposes would be sought through the Rural Development Ministry (KPLB) in the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“So, under KPLB we will construct water pipes and utilities in Pulau Besar and Pulau Sibu. We plan to develop these two islands first because they are closer to the mainland,” he told reporters after the presentation of prizes for the Tourism Malaysia Surfcasting Tour 2020 fishing competition, here, yesterday.

Also present was Tourism Malaysia Domestic Events Division, senior director Datuk Dr Ammar Abd Ghapar.

Asman Shah also said the ministry had identified several potential islands out of the 93 islands in Mersing to be developed but faced problems such as no water and electricity supply. Besides the islands were small and only five were inhabited by people.

“We are identifying islands in Mersing that can be developed as each island has a theme, for example Pulau Aur for diving, Pulau Pemanggil for fishing and Pulau Tinggi for the tourism community... so we will develop according to the theme,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked to comment on domestic tourism, Ammar said, in Johor alone 10 hotels were forced to be closed, namely eight in Johor Bahru and two in Mersing.

Thus, the public, especially civil servants were urged to continue to support the domestic tourism sector affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which among others was also affected by the closure of the Malaysia-Singapore border.

“Therefore, recently we launched a package for civil servants and received encouraging response,” he said, adding that civil servants were less affected during the COVID-19 pandemic because they did not have salary deductions or layoffs.