Bagan Datoh to be known as Bagan Datuk

Better facilities: Hamzah showing the upgrading works being carried out at the Bagan Datoh Jetty.

BAGAN DATOH: This sleepy little hollow will turn into a hive of activity just past the New Year.

A crowd of over 10,000 is expected to converge here on Jan 9 as Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah declares Bagan Datoh the state’s 12th district.

To mark the occasion, the Ruler will also officially announce the new name of the district as Bagan Datuk.

Bagan Datoh district officer Datuk Hamzah Hussin, who disclosed this yesterday, said the event would be held at SM Sains Bagan Datoh at 10am.

Encompassing 94,969.892ha, the new district will have four state constituencies under its administration – Rungkup, Hutan Melin­tang, Kampung Gajah and Changkat Jong.

Hamzah said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir would be given a special briefing on development projects costing over RM1bil to be implemen­ted in Bagan Datoh.

“There are plans to transform the town from its fishing and plantation base into a thriving township,” he told a press confe­rence here.

Hamzah said a township to be called Bagan Datuk Water City would house government administrative offices, a hospital, district police headquarters, educational institutions, homes and a waterfront attraction.

He said there were also plans to build and upgrade basic facilities at the islands off Pulau Sembilan, which is surrounded by nine islands.

He said the islands were ideal for angling, picnicking and viewing the “Blue Tears” – luminescent plankton found along the coastlines – in the evenings.

“There is a need to have proper facilities like toilets and huts at Pulau Lalang and Pulau Rumbia,” he added.

Hamzah said some of the work was already underway, with more to be done next year.