LANGKAWI – The authorities need to construct a sewage system for the sprawling colony of Rohingya refugees in Bukit Malut if they are serious about preventing sea pollution, said the Malaysian Nature Society.
Its vice-president Eric R. Sinnaya said that the culprit for this wave of plastic containers and rubbish besieging the island’s pristine waters is most likely Bukit Malut itself, where it has been going on for the past several years.
The colony, whom authorities believe to have mushroomed to roughly 10,000 residents from just some 500 in the 1980s, mostly comprises refugees of Burmese descent who fled the strife in Myanmar before being given amnesty here.
Some quarters allege that the group was originally from Langkawi and had migrated to Thailand and Myanmar before deciding to move back to the island in the 1980s.
They were resettled in Bukit Malut before Langkawi became a leading tourism site.
Commenting on the rubbish floating off the district’s township of Kuah here, Sinnaya said the drift pattern showed that it likely originated from Bukit Malut and not neighbouring Kuala Perlis, Kuala Kedah, or the nearby Thai islands.
“The community mostly lives in stilt homes, from which the rubbish is easily discarded from their houses. There is no sewage system as far as I know,” he said.
He said that the colony’s living conditions need to be improved before it becomes an eyesore to tourists passing through.
Eric also stressed on the risk of damaging the coastline if indiscriminate littering continues to occur.
He was commenting on a viral video, believed to be shot by a tourist, showing rubbish floating near Kuah.
Sedih mat , tengok dekat langkawi . Harap Yb ² Menteri atasan dapat Solve The Problem . Sebelum Hilang Keindahan Pulau Lagenda .
— amin_hafiz ?? (@amin_hafiszat) September 18, 2021
✅ Mohon Share .#Langkawi #pulaulangkawi pic.twitter.com/oNzj9fOrFt
The area is close to two prominent resorts – the St Regis Hotel and the Westin Hotel.
Meanwhile, the Langkawi Tourism City Municipal Council agreed with Sinnaya in pointing at the Bukit Malut settlement.
MPLBP president Radzuan Osman said that the floating garbage seen in the island’s waters had been washed out to the ocean by high tides due to the monsoon season in the northern region.
He promised that the local authorities would work to clean up the site in view that the island has been reopened to a tourism bubble here.
Langkawi MP and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed had also tweeted about the video, citing that the island is a jewel of Kedah that needs to be preserved from pollution.
Terima kasih Encik @amin_hafiszat. Saya sudah hubungi pihak majlis untuk tangani isu ini segera. Langkawi pulau pelancongan. Saya rayu semua agar lebih tanggungjawab. jangan buang sampah merata. Sama-samalah kita jaga Langkawi, permata Kedah. https://t.co/hwPqRhZKBP
— Dr Mahathir Mohamad (@chedetofficial) September 19, 2021
Kedah had announced plans to relocate Bukit Malut’s residents to other parts of the island within the next five years.
The area would be transformed into a tourism project with plans to construct an international racing circuit, resorts as well as luxurious condominiums. – The Vibes, September 20, 2021
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