PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet is of the view that Pulau Kukup must remain a national park so that the area stays the second largest uninhabited mangrove area in the world.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar said this was the consensus reached during Friday’s Cabinet meeting.
“The change in status of Pulau Kukup (from national park land to Sultanate land) will definitely have an effect on its recognition as an area of international interest as well as Malaysia’s reputation as a country which takes care of biodiversity.
“The people also generally support the idea of maintaining the national park status so that the ecosystem of Pulau Kupup is looked after because of its importance internationally as well as for the good of future generations.
“Any failure to manage this area properly can lead to us losing a priceless treasure of biodiversity for good, and affect efforts to acknowledge Mersing as a national geopark,” he said.
Xavier said Pulau Kukup, located in Pontian district and covers 647ha, has a unique mangrove ecosystem.
He said there were 18 species of mangrove at the Pulau Kukup mangrove forest, adding that this was one of the richest in the country as the Larut Matang mangrove forest has 21 species despite having a land area of 40,000ha.
“Pulau Kukup has also been identified as a stop for migratory birds and a shelter and breeding place for threatened birds such as storks, the Chinese egret and the mangrove pitta, as well as a resource for fish and aquaculture.”
The Johor government had recently announced that Pulau Kukup had been degazetted as a national park and declared sultanate land.
However, the Johor assembly later voted to urge the government to review the decision.
On Thursday, Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim had tweeted that his father, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had decided that Pulau Kukup would remain a national park.
On Friday, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Osman said the state government would state its stand on the issue during the winding-up of the state assembly beginning Sunday.