MERSING: Sultan Ibrahim of Johor has expressed the hope that the RM22-million Mersing Laguna project will turn Mersing into a world famous tourist destination.
Sultan Ibrahim said despite having many precious natural resources and beautiful islands, Mersing, which was founded in 1892, had yet to experience rapid development as compared to other towns in Johor.
“Today, Mersing is a mere transit town for tourists heading to the islands. Most of the people of Mersing still depend on seasonal fishery activities and sources of income that are not very stable.
“Hence, the time has come for the people of Mersing to make changes for a better future and higher income,” he said at the ground-breaking ceremony for the Mersing Laguna project at Dataran Pulau here yesterday.
Present were Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, Mersing Member of Parliament Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad and Radiant Starfish Bhd chief executive officer Ungku Safian Abdullah.
Sultan Ibrahim said as the Mersing Laguna project would definitely benefit the people in the constituency, they should prepare themselves to grab any available opportunities to work in the tourism industry so that they would not have to continue living as fishermen and depend on government aid.
The Sultan said the developer and the government had carried out in-depth study on the project and had taken into account all factors and impact of the project to the residents and the environment.
“I would also like to give a little reminder to those it may concern. Do not take advantage by staging protests or making unreasonable demands for your own personal or political interests.
“As you know, I visit Mersing on a very regular basis because this town has been my playground ever since I was young.” — Bernama