The Star 1 May 16;
KUALA TERENGGANU: Chalet and hotel operators who pollute the waters of Pulau Redang will be taken to court and face hefty fines, promised Mentri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman.
Government agencies conducted a spot check on Thursday after the pollution was highlighted in The Star and Ahmad Razif said they found open burning of rubbish, oil slicks along the beach and inappropriate channelling of sewerage from the island.
“We cannot compromise on such matters. Sometime next week, I will go to Pulau Redang to see what is going on.
“I will also be visiting other islands, including Pulau Perhentian and Pulau Kapas, to see whether such things are happening there too,” he said.
After that, a meeting with all the operators will be held to discuss the matter, he said after a ground breaking ceremony for the Terengganu Halal Centre and launch of the Anak Terengganu Entrepreneur’s Carnival in Gong Badak yesterday.
In his speech earlier, Ahmad Razif announced that more incentives would be given to companies in Terengganu that employed only locals.
He said the incentives could be in the form of infrastructure cost reductions, discounts on utility bills and cuts in assessment tax.
This initiative by the state government was to lessen the unemployment rate while ensuring 40,000 job opportunities for the people of Terengganu by 2020.
“A special committee will be formed to look into the matter and come up with incentives,” he said.
This was the first official public event that Ahmad Razif attended since the revocation of his “Datuk Seri” title.
