The Star, Malaysia : PM: Tioman’s environment must come first

Thursday October 30, 2003

PM: Tioman’s environment must come first

PUTRAJAYA: Those responsible for the development of Pulau Tioman must take the necessary steps to protect the island’s natural beauty, said Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He said any new project to be introduced on the island must be implemented wisely, taking into consideration the need to protect its environment.

The Prime Minister said he did not wish to see development which could result in the destruction of plants and vegetation, the beaches and coastline and the marine life in waters off the island, said to be among the world’s best.

“All efforts must be taken to preserve these natural beauty as they are the main attractions of Tioman,” he said in a videoconferencing at his office during the ground-breaking ceremony of the new Tioman airport near Kampung Paya yesterday.

The Government, he said, was prepared to spend over RM100mil for the construction of the airport just to develop the tourism industry which would help improve the income and standard of living of the people on the island.

The new airport is designed to accommodate bigger aircraft like the Boeing 737, to facilitate travel to the resort island as it would be much better than the present airstrip in Kampung Tekek.

Dr Mahathir said the beauty of Tioman would be meaningless if more people could not enjoy it.

He said the airport, with a 2km-long runway and a terminal, would be built on reclaimed land in Kampung Paya.

“The present airport in Kampung Tekek will remainopen until the new airport is completed.

“The Government is finalising the list of con-tractors involved in building the airport.

“All tourism activities and the villages on the island will not be adversely affected by the construction work,” he said.

Chan said construction of the new airport would also take into consideration the environmental impact on the island.

He said about 200,000 tourists visited Tioman every year and the number was expected to increase after the new airport was completed.

The island was accorded duty-free status in September last year.

The island’s existing airport is limited to a 48-seater aircraft operated by Berjaya Air.