Pulau Besar's RM20m tourism makeover

MALACCA: The mystical island of Pulau Besar will have a RM20 million facelift which will turn it into a major tourist destination.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said this included landscaping, the setting up of a museum and the upgrading of basic infrastructure, and the purchase of a new fleet of vans to transport tourists around the famed island.

A special feature of the island is that it resembles a pregnant woman lying on her back.

Ali said this to reporters after visiting the island with Malacca's Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob, here, yesterday.

"Pulau Besar has the potential to be the next tourism attraction in the state."

From the RM20 million, Ali said RM10 million would be for the refurbishment of a hotel and RM3 million each for the upgrading of the chalets and landscaping.


"The rest would be for infrastructure facilities such as the roads and to purchase the vans."

Ali also said the museum, which would be called "Muzium Pulau Besar" would be completed by August, this year.

He added that it would house artifacts related to the island with some of them dating back to the start of the Malacca sultanate era.

"We would be getting most of the artifacts from a private collector, Ana Fakir from Kuang, Selangor, who has agreed to display his collection of historic artifacts, some of which are rare items, at the museum," he said, adding that the museum was now 40 per cent completed.

Ali said the state was hoping to attract 200,000 visitors to the island in a year.

"We are expecting the island to generate some RM10 million a year from tourism and this would create an economic spin off not only for the islanders but also to boat operators."

In a related development, Ali said the state government had also agreed to sell a few plots of land on the island to individuals to build chalets and bungalows, which would be leased out.

Pulau Besar is also a place of pilgrimage for a large number of Indian Muslims in the country who come to the island to visit a mausoleum, believed to be that of Sultan Ariffin Syeikh Ismail Waliallah, who was believed to be the 18th descendant of Prophet Muhammad.

He was said to have preached Islam in the 15th century after receiving a vision while visiting the prophet's grave in Madinah.

There are also numerous other graves visited by pilgrims such as that of Datok Janggut, Datuk Puteh and Nenek Kebayan, a cluster of seven graves called "Makam Tujuh Beradik".

At the highest point on the island is a large boulder that is split down the middle, which is known as "Batu Belah", also a favourite destination for local pilgrims.

Pulau Besar is located some 12km from the heart of Malacca city and is part of a chain of five smaller islands.

It takes about 25 minutes to an hour to reach the island by boat or a chartered ferry from the mouth of Sungai Malacca or the jetties in Umbai and Anjung Batu.

By Jason Gerald John