High Potential for Pulau Aman to be a Top Tourist Destination

By Lizawati Bahanan BATU KAWAN (Penang, Malaysia), May 3 (Bernama) -- Pulau Aman, an island which is as beautiful as its name sounds, and which literally means island of peace, may be a little unknown to some people. But it does deliver the promise of peace and relaxation for visitors in search of its special delicacy, prawn mee, or a venue for relaxation for the family. The island, which is also a fishing village, was first known as Pulau Keramat, and was ruled by the Kedah state in the beginning of its establishment around 1783. It had a population of almost 1,000 people then, comprising Malays and Chinese during the British era. However, due to economic problems, many of its residents moved out of the island, bringing down the population to 260 people. Besides fishing, the people in the small village district, which covers 115.2 hectares in area, also operate several small and medium sized industries that produce traditional cookies such as bahulu, love letters, and sukun (breadfruit) chips. Pulau Aman's Village Chief, Yaacob Talib, 68, said the sukun (breadfruit)chips produced in Pulau Aman are very popular due to their deliciousness. The village, in fact, is home to a still fruiting 120-year-old Sukun tree, which has been verified by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi). MANY TOURISTS "The taste of the sukun or breadfruit here is exceptionally tasty, and many come here to taste not only the prawn mee but also the sukun chips. There are many sukun trees here, and they bear fruits in two seasons, with one being around mid-year and the other at the end of the year," Yaacob said during an interview with Bernama recently. The fifth head of the village, Yaacob, who has served the small village for 20 years, said although Pulau Aman is not as popular as Batu Ferringhi (beach area in Penang), Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill) and Jerejak Island, it still has its share of visitors, both foreign and domestic. "Last year alone, about 53,000 visitors came to Pulau Aman, and indeed, the figure has been going up annually, with visitors coming from Hong Kong, Indonesia and other countries. "These foreign tourists love venturing into the jungle areas or relaxing around the island, while locals enjoy activities like fishing," Yaacob said, adding that he hopes the government will build a concrete road on the island to make it easier for tourists who are keen on exploring the island. To date, only one-third of the island is accessible by concrete road, while the remaining two-thirds of the island does not have such roads. Yaacob said the matter has already been brought up but no answer has been given so far. HISTORIC PLACE Besides enjoying its scenic surroundings of natural and unspoilt greenery, visitors to Pulau Aman can also visit other historic places such as its ancient burial sites, ammunition storage houses built by the British, pirate caves, the Golden Well, and the Umbrella Rock, an outcrop off the island. Pulau Aman, which provides accommodation in the form of village houses and chalets as well as camping grounds near the Golden Well for visitors, is a village under the Bukit Tambun state legislative district (DUN), under the Batu Kawan Parliamentary constituency. During this 13th General Election, the Bukit Tambun state seat will witness a four-cornered fight comprising candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN) or National Front, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or People's Justice Party and two independent contestants. BN's candidate, Lai Chu Hock, will face incumbent Law Choo Kiang from PKR as well as independent candidates A. Loganathan and Aziz Zainal Abidin for the state seat. In the 2008 election, Law won the seat with a majority of 5,129 votes, defeating BN's candidate, Huan Cheng Guan. COMING BACK TO VOTE Yaacob said the small district has 190 registered voters, with 120 of them working and living on the island, while 70 of them are working and living outside of the island. "Usually, during the election season, they would come back and carry out their duty as citizens," he said, adding that none of the people had missed out on various forms of assistance provided by the federal government. Besides that, 11 houses belonging to fishermen have been renovated while other incentives such as diesel subsidies and allowances have also been given to fishermen. A federal government funded RM300,000 (US$98,928) landing jetty for passenger boats has also been planned out for the island, with work expected to take off latest by May this year, he said. The jetty will replace the older wooden jetty. "We just hope that there will be some development that will drive up the tourist industry here as it will reinvigorate the economy of the local people through various activities. "Such as the homestay industry, running chalets, passenger boats as well as downstream industries such as the production of belacan (shrimp paste), salted fish and other seafood products besides other Small and Medium Industries (SMI) products," Yaacob said. -- BERNAMA