LETTER | On March 7, the decision to de-gazette Pulau Kukup’s status as a national park was made during a Johor exco meeting.

On Aug 5, a notification about the decision was sent to the director of the Johor National Parks Corporation.

On Oct 25, the cancellation of the gazette was published by the state government.

On Dec 4, news about the degazetting was published in local newspapers.

On Dec 5, Johor crown prince Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim clarified that Pulau Kukup will be better protected as sultanate land. Also, five other national parks in Johor would follow suit.

Lawyers for Liberty adviser N Surendran was critical with the Johor government’s seemingly surreptitious efforts to degazette the national park without stakeholder consultation and public announcement. 

He also urged the prime minister and federal government to intervene and save Pulau Kukup.

Johor exco Aminolhuda Hassan, however, claimed that the Pakatan Harapan-led state government was unaware of the degazetting, and that the decision was made by the BN administration in March.

On Dec 6, Surendran pointed out that the current administration nevertheless carried out the degazetting and made no attempt to reverse the decision.

The Johor state assembly passed an emergency motion to review the degazetting of Pulau Kukup National Park.

On Dec 9, Johor Menteri Besar Osman Sapian assured that Pulau Kukup will remain a national park, though under the Sultanate Enactment Act 1934. He also claimed that the current administration only came to know about the degazetting in the media.

The whole incident reveals several underlying problems and seeds sowed for future conflicts.

First, it is disturbing and eyebrow-raising that the current administration was unaware of the degazetting until the reporting by media. It implies that senior civil servants in the Johor state government are either incompetent or saboteurs. Or, rather worryingly, the current administration is still playing catch-up. 

Or maybe the current administration was simply caught with their pants down, so they came up with an excuse, hoping that the public would believe it.

Regardless of the truth, the damage has been done. Although the Harapan-controlled Johor Legislative Assembly was quick to pass an urgent motion to review the degazetting, the Pulau Kukup National Park crisis has effectively eroded much of the people’s confidence in the Harapan-led Johor state government. 

One cannot help but wonder what has happened to the Harapan’s promised competence, transparency and accountability.

Second, the degazetting of Pulau Kukup National Park has now created a dangerous precedent. 

What will happen to all the national parks in Malaysia now? Will other sultans start decreeing for all the national parks in their state to be degazetted and reclassified to sultanate land for "better protection"? 

Will forest reserves be degazetted and reclassified to sultanate land in the name of “better protection” as well? Degazetting Pulau Kukup National Park will inevitably create a “beast” few can control.

Third, there is so much uncertainty with the administration of Pulau Kukup National Park now. In 1997, Pulau Kukup was gazetted as a national park under the National Parks (Johor) Corporation Enactment 1989. 

Development restrictions, park administration and roles of the Johor National Parks Corporation are clearly specified in the enactment. 

Now that Pulau Kukup has its status changed to sultanate land, it is unclear how the mangrove island will be managed and protected under the Sultanate Enactment Act 1934, since even the National Land Code does not apply to sultanate land.

How will the Johor National Parks Corporation manage the park under the Sultanate Enactment Act 1934? Is the state government responsible for the operating costs of the national park? Who will receive the operating profits? Who has the final say on the matter of park administration? These questions remain unanswered by the Johor state government.

On Dec 5, Tunku Ismail argued that all the national parks in Johor are to be reclassified as sultanate land for better protection. Four days later, he clarified that Pulau Kukup, despite being classified as sultanate land, remains a national park, and that its usage and protection does not change. 

With all due respect, this contradiction begs a question – why go through the trouble of degazetting then?

The Johor menteri besar’s explanation during the state legislative assembly on Dec 9 did not shed much light on the matter. There are too many questions that remain unanswered. And the people are expecting that the Harapan-led Johor government to be more transparent and accountable than their predecessors. 

The current administration should realize that providing a mere verbal assurance will not get them off the hook.

Elected by the people, the current administration has a solemn obligation to the people. Be transparent and have the courage to do the right thing or risk squandering the people’s confidence in the state government. 

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.