IPOH, Sept 22 — Perak Housing, Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman, Datuk Nolee Ashilin Mohammed Radzi, clarified today that Pangkor Island is not on Malaysia’s latest domestic travel bubble list as the island is yet to fulfil certain requirements.

Nolee stressed, however, that the island will be on the list once these are met.

“I was informed by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) that Pangkor Island is one of the destinations that will be included in the travel bubble for domestic tourism.

“However, the island is yet to meet certain requirements. Among them are the level of operator preparedness and the vaccination rate of the island’s residents,” she told a press conference at the Perak Darul Ridzuan Building here.

Nolee also said that the authorities would need to work out a way to manage entry to the island to avoid crowding and congestion.

“We need to look into the problems that could occur during the digital vaccination certificate inspection and the Covid-19 screening.

“We are working on these issues now and the report is not ready yet. God willing, we will try to expedite this,” she added.

Nolee also said that the state government is working closely with Motac to meet the requirements as soon as possible in order to secure approval from the Cabinet and National Security Council for Pangkor Island’s inclusion on the domestic travel bubble list.

She also said the island’s target reopening date to all visitors, which is by November 1, remains the same.

At the moment, the island is only open to Perak residents.

Yesterday, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri announced that Genting Highlands, Melaka and Tioman Island will join Malaysia’s travel bubble and may reopen to visitors on October 1.