JPA's MADANI Adopted Village Programme To Breathe New Life Into Pulau Aman

BATU KAWAN, Oct 6 (Bernama) -- The implementation of several physical projects by the Public Service Department (JPA) including upgrading basic facilities through the MADANI Adopted Village programme will breath new life into the Pulau Aman fishing village here.

JPA deputy director-general (Development) Datuk Dr Anesee Ibrahim said that the initiative not only can improve the people's quality of life, but it can also change the landscape by making Pulau Aman a competitive art and heritage tourism island and at the same time a tourism hub on par with other tourism destinations.

"The JPA has received an allocation of RM2.5 million from the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to implement the MADANI Adopted Village project and we have spent RM2.32 million for physical projects and two non-physical projects," he said.

“So far, seven physical projects have been completed, namely the repair of public toilets, playgrounds and drains, the upgrade of the garbage collection centre, jetty and multipurpose hall, the repair of drains as well as the installation of streetlights."

He said this at the Pulau Aman MADANI Adopted Village Physical Project Handover Ceremony and MyKP Programme here today. The event was also attended by Department of Fisheries (DOF) director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain.

Anesee said the two non-physical projects that have been implemented include enhancing the village's vibrancy through infrastructure improvements, beautifying the children's playgrounds, creating murals at Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Pulau Aman, painting Masjid Ar-Rahman and cleaning up the beach.

For social and humanitarian services, he stated that friendly sessions with retirees as well as various courses such as educational digitalisation, the use of Microsoft Office and Canva, and human capital development courses like Homestay Management and language courses have been organised by the INTAN Northern Region Campus.

Meanwhile, as an initial step to develop Pulau Aman as a tourism hub, Anesee stated that the JPA, in collaboration with the DOF, Pulau Aman Fishing Community (MyKP), Seberang Perai Selatan District and Land Office (SPS) and Civil Defence Force (APM) is also organising the 2024 Pulau Aman MyKP Fishing Competition (Fishing Community).

In addition, a total of 1,600 juvenile barramundi, 1,000 juvenile snapper, and 1,000 red-legged shrimp were released along the shores of Pulau Aman, and these will benefit the Pulau Aman myKP community fishermen with a retail market value of RM110,000 through fisheries resource enhancement activities.

The MADANI Adopted Village is an initiative by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim through Budget 2024 to enhance access to basic facilities holistically through a 'Whole of Government' approach.

Pulau Aman is a traditional fishing village covering an area of 116.5 hectares, located about eight kilometres from the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge, and is home to 47 families with a population of 250 people.

The island is connected by sea via the Batu Musang Jetty in Batu Kawan, with an about 10-minute boat ride.

-- BERNAMA