PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has rejected the notion that the Federal government is an “outsider” with regards to the issue pertaining the status of Johor’s Pulau Kukup as a national park.
Responding to a statement by Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim's that “outsiders” should not meddle in the state’s decision to change the island’s status from a national park to sultanate land, Dr Mahathir said the government was within its right in handling the issue.
"Malaysians are not outsiders. The Federal government... not outsiders. We are responsible for everything happening in the county,” he said.
Asked if Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar would accept the Cabinet’s decision that Pulau Kukup should retain its status as a national park, Dr Mahathir said he hoped so.
"I hope Johor will accept the decision as it is the stand of the Federal government. We have not touched the Sultan.
"We just want Pulau Kukup not to be developed. It should remain as forest reserve particularly as it is a mangrove forest.
"It may be the Sultan or Sultanah's land but it should not be developed," he said.
The prime minister was speaking to reporters after officiating the Empowering Local Council Convention hosted by the Housing and Local Government Ministry at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).
Also present was Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.
The Johor government had recently announced that Pulau Kukup had been de-gazetted 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 Ismail tweeted that his father, Sultan Ibrahim had decided that Pulau Kukup would remain a national park but also turned into sultanate land.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar had last week said the Cabinet was of the view that Pulau Kukup must remain a national park so that the area remains the second largest uninhabited mangrove area in the world.
He had said that any change in the status of Pulau Kukup (from national park land to Sultanate land) would 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.
Pulau Kukup, located in Pontian district and covers 647ha, has a unique mangrove ecosystem, with 18 mangrove species and described among the richest in the country.
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.
Meanwhile, on a separate matter, Dr Mahathir was asked on his granddaughter’s views that the Saturday’s rally against the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) was “disgusting”.
He said his granddaughter Melia Serena, who is the daughter of his son, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, was free to comment on the issue.