The Johor Education Foundation (YPJ) will blacklist 708 errant loan defaulters from January next year for failing to repay their education loans despite numerous requests.

Johor Education, Information, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Committee chairman Md Jais Sarday said all of them were from a group of borrowers who stopped their loan repayment since 2004, involving a balance of loans amounting to RM3.2 million.

"It is hoped the action will get their attention to repay their loans," he said when winding up debate at the committee level of the 2015 Johor Budget at the State Legislative Assembly in Kota Iskandar, Nusajaya on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, documentary programmes on the National Park and Marine Park of the state by several European television stations recently had helped draw tourists to Johor.

State Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman Datuk Tee Siew Kiong said the programmes introduced Johor's various attractions such as beaches, islands and forest to Europeans.

"As such the state government will continue to promote the state's tourist attractions at the National Park and Marine Park via sustainable ecotourism," he said when winding up debate for his committee in the 2015 Johor Budget at the State legislative assembly.

The Johor State government is also proposing to develop the state into an international religious education hub to empower the system of Islamic education.

In winding the debate on his committee in the 2015 Johor budget at the state assembly today, Johor State Religious Committee chairman Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim said the proposal would be further fine-tuned under the Johor Islamic religious education strategic plan.

Meanwhile, State Unity and Human Resources Committee chairman R.Vidyananthan when winding debate on his committee at the state assembly said a total of 209,889 foreign workers had been issued temporary work visit passes for various sectors in Johor this year.

He said the foreign workers were employed in manufacturing, agriculture, plantation, construction and service sectors for a maximum of 10 years.