JOHOR BARU, Dec 5 — Pulau Kukup will become ‘Sultanate Land’ to protect it after the island was degazetted as a national park by the Johor government, said Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
“In the past, several national parks were privatised but in Johor, His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar has a different vision.
“To better protect all national parks, Sultan Ibrahim decreed that all the national parks be changed to Sultanate Land,” he tweeted late last night.
Tunku Ismail, who is popularly known as TMJ (the Malay initials for Tunku Mahkota Johor), added that such changes were also practised in the United Kingdom where all the parks come under the Crown.
“However, this does not change the status, policies and usage of the park where it continues to remain a national park status,” he said on Twitter.
It was reported yesterday that Pulau Kukup would cease to have its Ramsar Convention ‘Wetland of International Importance’ recognition after the Johor government cancelled its status as a national park.
This follows a report by Malaysiakini yesterday that the decision to de-gazette Pulau Kukup as a national park was made during a state executive committee meeting on September 24, with the gazette of the decision published on October 25.
A copy of the gazette was leaked online and caused concern among some Malaysians, especially environmentalists, as there had been no engagement with stakeholders prior to the decision.
Malay Mail learnt that Pulau Kukup’s de-gazettement was approved by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government on March 7 this year, just before the May 9 general election.
The present Pakatan Harapan state government was ostensibly not aware of the decision.
Currently, Johor has six national parks including Endau-Rompin Peta, Endau-Rompin Selai, Tanjung Piai, Pulau Kukup, Gunung Ledang, and Sultan Iskandar Marine Park.
Pulau Kukup measures approximately 647ha and is surrounded by some 800ha of mudflats.
The uninhabited island had been gazetted as a national park 21 years ago and is touted as among the world’s protected wetlands. In January 2003, Pulau Kukup was granted the status of a ‘Wetland of International Importance’ or Ramsar Site, by the Geneva-based Ramsar Convention Bureau.
It is one of the few remaining pristine wetlands in South-east Asia and was one of five Ramsar sites in Malaysia.
Ramsar sites are wetland sites designated to be of international importance under the United Nation’s Convention on Wetlands.
Malay Mail is seeking an official statement on the issue by the Johor state government.
