I want to express my dismay about plans to make Pulau Redang an exclusive gateway for the rich and famous. All Malaysians, are stakeholders to Pulau Redang, one of mother natures precious gift.
Reason given was to protect the islands environment due to overcrowding.
Firstly i think the idea sounds discriminative. Discriminating between the rich and not so wealth to do.
I find the intention rather confusing, which is which?. To protect the Redangs environment or the need to create an exclusive gateway?.
I am not against the creation of an exclusive gateway for the rich and famous. However to choose Redang which is an established and popular gateway island for Malaysian from all walks of life seems rather bad.
Look at pangkor island which is open to all and Pulau Pangkor Laut which is an exclusive gate away island. Got to take a similar approach. I am sure there are many remote islands surrounding Redang to be considered.
In terms of protecting Redang from overcrowding, well the only sensible approach is to limit the number of people at any one time at the island. ( Yet, that does not mean limit to the rich only, because i think there thousands of people who are rich all over the world, get my point?) Otherwise consider starting a conservation fund, whereby all visitors are required to contribute a certain sum of money to the fund. A compulsory donation. The other pestering problem, pollution and contamination by accommodation operators, well the solution is simply don’t renew the their operative licenses if they have gone against the law. What do we do in mainland when factory's are polluting the rivers with their manufacturing waste?. There is a need to increase enforcement. Conduct spot checks. Do hire more people do this lack manpower to do this. What about infrastructure, to ensure there are proper disposal of sewage, maybe here the state government can do its bit a bit. Work hand in hand with enviromentalist, marine experts, etc to find a right workable solution to perserve Redang if must.
Also create more awareness that environmental protection is everyone’s responsibility.
I really hope the goverment would re consider its decision.
