TIOMAN: Starting next year, divers to Pulau Tioman will have another site to enthral their senses once the submerged LRT coaches are populated with sea life and corals.
Known as the Al-Sultan Abdullah Dive Site, the two LRT coaches were submerged in Monkey Bay in early July to serve as an artificial reef and breeding ground.
Tioman Development Authority general manager Datuk Idros Yahya, said that the LRT recreational reef would further boost the island as a prime destination for scuba diving.
“We welcome every effort to establish artificial reefs here as it has a positive impact on the marine ecology.
“Indirectly, it will attract more scuba divers while also raise awareness on the importance of marine conservation,” he told Bernama.
The initiative was carried out through Malaysia Book of Records (MBOR): First LRT Coach Reef in Malaysia and organised by the Al Sultan Abdullah Foundation (YASA).
Sultan of Pahang, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah officially launched the programme at Berjaya Tioman Resort on July 13.
According to the project’s director Mohd Fakhrul Islam Juhali, Pulau Tioman was selected for its rich marine environment and its position as a major tourist destination.
Fakhrul Islam, who is MBOR: First LRT Coach Reef in Malaysia director, hopes that the new dive site will attract more tourists and contribute to the local economy.
He said the task of submerging the two coaches was not easy and involved many people, including 60 divers.
The programme’s technical adviser, Noriqram Mohd Nor (pic), said the project was only carried out after obtaining approval from the authorities, including the Fisheries Department and the South-East Asia Marine Resources Institute.
The process of submerging the coaches was carefully monitored and all environmental safety guidelines were adhered to including ensuring that the components were not a danger to marine life, Noriqram said.
“This task is not easy and requires a high cost. Therefore, we hope tourists and divers will be responsible for maintaining it and avoid any acts of vandalism.”
Noriqram said each coach weighed over 20 tonnes and was transported over 395km from the Kelana Jaya LRT Depot in Selangor to Kuala Rompin, Pahang. The coaches were then taken to Monkey Bay via a barge.
“As a recreational artificial reef, it must look attractive, so we chose to retain the aesthetic value of the coaches as much as possible, such as the seats, poles, handrails, and emergency phones,” said Noriqram, who was also one of the divers.
To make sure that the coaches will not harm the surrounding ecosystem, a team from the Fisheries Department’s ecosystem conservation and biodiversity unit will conduct surveys once every six months.
Azlan Md Nor, who heads the unit, said they would also plant staghorn corals on the roof and on the LRT structure within the next year.
He added that the LRT artificial reef might be the last foreign reef to be deployed because such materials pose a high risk of contaminating the marine ecosystem.
“We are concerned that if not closely monitored, the area might become a dumping site, subsequently polluting the marine environment,” he said.
