The Malaysian Insight

THE Terengganu government’s failure to provide infrastructure has made Pulau Perhentian dirty and led to tourists falling ill there recently, tourism operators said.

The resort operators deflected blame for not complying with hygiene and health regulations, saying the state administration’s lack of capacity to provide facilities or infrastructure on the resort island is creating problems for them.

Businessman Abdul Aziz Che Abdullah said the allegation that the place was unhygienic was baseless because if it was true that the water was contaminated due to the sewage system, residents and other tourists would have fallen sick too.

“Actually, we are a bit sceptical about the allegation. The people could have fallen ill due to so many other factors, including consuming food from outside.

“This is usually what tourists do. They like to buy outside food and bring it to the island,” he said.

However, the former Pulau Perhentian resort and tourism association head admitted that the island was indeed facing a sewage system problem.

He said a majority of resorts and hotels, including Pulau Perhentian residents, would build their own sewage system since the island was not maintained by the local authorities in the past.

He said the incomplete infrastructure not only involved the sewage, but also the drainage system, solid waste management and 24-hour electricity supply.

Aziz said the local council only fully maintained Pulau Perhentian around year 2000.

“Before Pulau Perhentian became famous, the local council was not in existence here. We had to prepare everything ourselves.

“The villagers used to manage their own garbage, and for the operators they had to set up all the sewage systems themselves. It was considered private land. So there may have been some who built these properties without following specifications,” he said.

He added that when he was chairman of the association, his organisation often fought for infrastructure issues such as providing a systematic sewage system and 24-hour electricity supply.

“We have been fighting for a long time to have a more systematic sewage system on Pulau Perhentian. We also fought for a 24-hour electricity supply.

“But it is only now they are saying they will build the sewage system and on October 15, there will be a sewage disposal programme with operators and villagers. And we hope it can solve the problem we are currently facing,” he said.

An online news portal reported that a group of 40 tourists consisting of 27 adults and 13 children, who were on a three-night vacation to Pulau Perhentian Kecil, fell ill after swimming in the island’s waters.

According to the report, some of them had diarrhoea and high fever immediately after returning while some were hospitalised. A one-year-old child was diagnosed with typhoid and two other children suffered from blood poisoning.

The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry also issued a statement on the incident.

The state government, meanwhile, issued a statement instructing all the agencies involved to conduct investigations immediately to identify the cause of the incident.

Tourism exco Ariffin Deraman said the state government would not hesitate to use all existing legal measures firmly if premises failed to comply with the regulations.

Ariffin said the state government, in collaboration with the Environment and Water Ministry, was also working to build an integrated sewage plant to deal with issues related to sewage pollution on Pulau Perhentian.

For the record, this is not the first time tourists have fallen ill after traveling to the island.

A similar incident was reported last June and the Terengganu Health Department said it would investigate the case.

The Malaysian Insight also understands that the Environment Department had conducted an operation to investigate the water on the island.

The state health department had also conducted inspections at every business premises on Pulau Perhentian.

Asked on claims of tourists falling ill, state health director Kasemani Embong said his department had not received any reports on the matter.

He said it was difficult to determine the cause since the tourists who allegedly fell ill did not seek treatment at state health facilities.

“These people did not receive treatment at any health centre in Terengganu so we do not have a complete report yet regarding this case,” he said.

However, the health director did not respond to the results of the department’s probe into the first case reported last June.

Last September, The Malaysian Insight also reported the grievances of businessmen regarding basic facilities such as electricity supply among the main things that were blocking efforts to restore the tourism sector on the resort island in Terengganu.

Another operator who only wanted to be known as Mohd Ikmal, 38, urged the state government to admit its own weaknesses in providing infrastructure on the resort island.

Mohd said the state government’s policy was not very supportive in helping the tourism sector, which made it difficult for industry players.

“This is the real issue. Because the entrepreneurs themselves do not get support from the state government, but at the same time the tourism sector generates and gives profit to the state government.

“Residents here get the benefit, there are job opportunities. So the state should invest a little for infrastructure equipment.” – October 6, 2022.