In a letter addressed to the director of the Johor Land and Mines Office, Jaba said Pulau Kukup must be taken care of and monitored by the state government under the Johor Parks Corporation to become a tourism product of the state.

The letter was shared on Johor Crown Prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim’s twitter page.

Yesterday, Lawyers for Liberty slammed the Johor government for revoking the status of Pulau Kukup as a national park through a gazette in October.

The group’s adviser N Surendran said the revocation of Pulau Kukup’s national park status was tantamount to the destruction of a site “harbouring unparalleled ecological treasures”.

Pulau Kukup, Surendran said, was the world’s second largest uninhabited mangrove island and listed as a “wetland of international importance” under the Ramsar Convention 1971.

“The island also supports various threatened species of animals, and is categorised as an important bird area,” he added.

Following the reports about the de-gazettement, Tunku Ismail said Pulau Kukup will become Sultanate land, in order to better protect it.

Pulau Kukup is one of the six national parks in Johor. The others are Endau-Rompin Peta, Endau-Rompin Selai, Tanjung Piai, Gunung Ledang, and the Sultan Iskandar Marine Park.