Some RM15 million was allocated for the 12th Malaysian Plan to design and perform preliminary works in upgrading the Pangkor Island main jetty and cargo.
According to the minister of Economic Affairs, Dato’ Seri Mustapa Mohamed, RM7 million out of the total allocation is for next year.
He said so while answering Dato’ Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu’s query regarding the application status to upgrade the passenger jetty of the island which was declared duty-free in January this year.
Mustapa also responded to Faizal, who’s also the Menteri Besar of Perak, that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) Malaysia is considering the application to relax tour duration in Pangkor from 48 to 24 hours in order to qualify for duty-free purchases.
“As the parliamentary member for Tambun was informed in a letter by the ministry to the state government of Perak, MOF is unable to consider the application at this moment.
“If the ministry is to approve the application, tour duration will also have to be relaxed at three other tourism islands, which are Labuan, Tioman and Langkawi,” Mustapa explained.
On the application to make Sungai Pinang Kecil jetty in Pangkor a verified landing area, Mustapa stated that approval has yet to be obtained from the customs department.
“We understand that the existing main jetty is overcrowded and that there’s a necessity to research the plan entirely.
“We’ll further discuss with the Perak government on what can be reviewed for approval by the customs and refer to MOF regarding the matter,” he added.
Rosli Mansor
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