Perak to reopen Pulau Sembilan by year end after massive clean-up

Tan Kar Hing said the state government is working towards sustainable tourism.

— Picture by Marcus Pheong

IPOH, June 13 — The cluster of islands known as Pulau Sembilan off the coast of Bagan Datuk, Perak is expected to be open to visitors again by end of this year.

The islands have been closed to the public for restoration works since April 2017 due to man-made structures that threatened to wipe out its rich plethora of marine wildlife, including rare plankton that emits a blue glow in the dark along its shorelines.

“The clean up on the islands have been completed. New trees have been replanted. We just need to put up basic infrastructure such as a small jetty,” state Tourism, Culture and Arts committee chairman Tan Kar Hing told Malay Mail during a recent interview.

But he indicated that the state government has learnt its lesson and will be strict in implementing protective measures to prevent further damages to the islands and its rich but fragile marine ecosystem.

“There are seahorses, sharks, turtles, eagles and phytoplankton,” Tan said.

He said the state government is working towards sustainable tourism by limiting the number of visitors to Pulau Sembilan this time and banning the construction of permanent structures such as holiday chalets.

“Visitors wanting to overnight on the islands can only put up tents,” he said.

He also said the state may be adopting the internship programme at Pulau Redang, off the east coast, where undergraduates who visit the island have been helping with maintenance.

Tan said he would be meeting state Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah to update him on the islands’ progress.

Malay Mail had previously reported that the former state government closed the islands to safeguard it from degradation.

The islands had been advertised as a “must visit” destination during the Visit Perak Year 2017.

The authorities had then said continuous tourism activities would harm the islands’ main attraction — the rare species of plankton that glow in blue after sunset along the coastlines.

-malay mail.