Pulau Kukup remains as a National Park
ISKANDAR PUTERI: Pulau Kukup, which triggered a controversy recently after its status as a National Park was dropped, will remain so.
This follows the consent of the Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar to maintain the status quo.
Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian said the consent was given after his discussion with Sultan Ibrahim.
He said, during the discussion, Sultan Ibrahim also wanted the area to be looked after and supervised by the state government under the Johor National Park Corporation to turn it into a state tourism product.
‘’This shows Sultan Ibrahim’s concern on the importance of the mangrove forest there which acts as a natural wave-breaker and protects the biodiversity.
“As such, the issue need not be prolonged, seeing it is still a National Park in Johor,’’ he said. during the winding up session at the Johor State Assembly sitting here yesterday.
Osman stressed that the decision to drop the status of Pulau Kukup as a National Park prior to this was made by the State Executive Council at its meeting on March 7 this year, namely when the Barisan Nasional (BN) government was running the state.
However, the outcome was only known to his administration when Pulau Kukup’s status as a national park was de-gazetted and reported by the media.
“Admittedly, I was shocked by the report especially when some friends in Pakatan Harapan accused the state government administration of approving the move, when in reality it happened during the past administration,’’ he said.
According to Osman, the change in the status was initially aimed at turning Pulau Kukup into Sultanate land to ensure the island would continue to be protected, and better off, but the anxiety of the people prompted them to petition the move to drop the status.
Subsequently, many quarters urged Osman to furnish an explanation including Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) supreme council member Datuk A Kadir Jasin.
The 647 ha Pulau Kukup, which is surrounded by an 800 ha mangrove jungle, is the second largest mangrove forest island in the world and was declared as an area of international interest under the Ramsar Convention. However, since last week, its status became a question mark after the news on the cancellation of its status as a National Park was highlighted in the social media.