State Mulls Limiting Tourists To Resort Islands

KUALA TERENGGANU (Terengganu, Malaysia), July 9 (Bernama) -- The number of tourists to resort islands in Malaysia's east coast state of Terengganu will be limited to conserve them for the younger generation. State tourism, culture, arts and heritage committee chairman Abdul Rahin Mohd Said said a committee would be set up to determine how the number of tourists to the islands could be controlled. "Before limiting the number of visitors to the islands, we will set up a committee to draw up legal measures pertaining to this," he told reporters after opening a Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) Annual International Symposium here on Monday. Also present were UMT deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Prof Dr Noor Azhar Mohamed Shazili and chairman Prof Dr Sayed Mohd Zain Sayed Hasan. Abdul Rahin said the committee would also study the possibility of limiting baggage according to the number of hours a visitor would spend an island. "Maybe, we can also have a package whereby a tourist will spend two days on the mainland, and one day on an island. "This is because, we find that the excessive usage of shampoo by tourists and effluents, food wastes and garbage dumped into the sea, damage the corals. "Garbage which is stuck to the corals prevent them from getting sufficient sunlight, resulting in their damage and destruction. "Corals are also broken and damaged when they are stepped upon by inept swimmers," he noted. The islands which are popular with tourists in Terengganu are Pulau Perhentian, Lang Tengah, Redang, Kapas and Bidong which were controlled by UMT. Meanwhile, Dr Noor Azhar said UMT always coopeerated with the state government to help formulate a policy to conserve its natural resources. -- BERNAMA