No change to Pangkor’s Nov 1 reopening target, says Nolee

IPOH: Nov 1 will remain as the set target date to reopen Pangkor to fully vaccinated tourists, says Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi (pic).

The Perak Tourism Committee chairman said with interstate travels expected to be allowed soon, it was achievable as preparations are now ongoing to reopen the island by then.

"As mentioned by the Perak Mentri Besar, we will not rush into things as we also do not want to sacrifice the safety factor there.

"I still think it's a good target personally, as we hope to catch on to the (travel) bubble.

"When we are ready, we will leave it to the (Tourism, Arts and Culture) Ministry to make a decision then," she said at a press conference after presenting tablets to the Seri Kepayang flats community library here on Tuesday (Sept 28).

Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad had reportedly said that the state was in no rush to reopen Pangkor and would want to see how effective the Langkawi travel bubble is first.

It was reported that the island, which is part of the ministry’s Covid-19 Free Destination Programme, which also includes Redang, Perhentian and Tioman, is expected to reopen to fully vaccinated tourists from Nov 1.

On Sunday (Sept 26), Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had reportedly said that Malaysians can expect to cross state borders in the next three weeks following the government’s move to speed up vaccinations.