A PROPOSAL has been made to gazette the 120-year-old Kampung Sungai Melayu fishing village in Gelang Patah here as a national heritage zone.
Iskandar Regional Development Authority advisory board member Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad said the proposal to preserve Kampung Sungai Melayu came after the village was promoted as a destination for eco-tourism activities by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin last October.
“This village is the original Malay settlement in Gelang Patah and its history has greatly influenced the development of Johor Baru.”
Shahrir said the proposed gazetting of the village is in tandem with the National Heritage Act 2005 which preserves the village and protects the eco-system along Sungai Melayu, which was a Malay settlement more than a century ago.
“Kampung Sungai Melayu is about 120 years old and it has the potential for tourism activities which can be promoted in the international market.”
The gazettement of the village will add value to the surrounding areas as well.
It will also help to boost the economic growth of the people living there, said Shahrir.
He said Kampung Sungai Melayu had received almost 3,000 visitors since it was adopted by the Iskandar Malaysia Friendly programme.
“Visitors to Kampung Sungai Melayu will have an insight into the lives of the villagers,” said Shahrir during a visit to the fishing village recently.
Accompanying Shahrir were Nusajaya assemblymen Dr Zaini Abu Bakar, Umno Gelang Patah division chief Mohammad Khairi A. Malik and village head Pandak Ahmad.
Pandak said the villagers, comprising 148 families, were happy to know that the state government was looking to gazette the village as a national heritage zone.
“This will boost the economic growth in the area as well as encourage more visitors to come and experience life in a fishing village,” he said.
He said the gazettement would protect the mangroves and the mussels farming there. “The village has a history which dates to the formation of Johor.”