In a Facebook post today, Sultan Ibrahim, who personally witnessed the incident, expressed regret over what happened.

He said: “I regret the incident which happened right before my eyes. I saw the passenger boat speeding dangerously near the Pulau Rawa jetty.

“I directed the police to detain the boat, which had a family with small children on board for island hopping activities,” Sultan Ibrahim said.

“After police detained them and conducted further investigations, it was clear that they handled the boat recklessly as they were under the influence of drugs.”

As such, he said he had directed all enforcement agencies to increase patrols and take stringent action.

“Incidents like this are a great embarrassment to the Johor tourism industry. I hope incidents like this are not repeated.

“Take stringent action, including revoking their boat licences and seize boats which flout regulations,” the Johor ruler added.

Yesterday, police detained two men, a skipper and a crew member of a passenger boat, after finding that they had handled the boat in a reckless and dangerous manner with five others on board off Mersing, near Pulau Rawa.

Both men, aged 22 and 26 years, tested positive for methamphetamine.