Pulau Merambong is an uninhabited island located in

Pontian District Pontian District ( ms, Daerah Pontian) is a district located in southwest part of the Malaysian state of Johor. It borders Batu Pahat and Kluang Districts to the north and Kulai and Johor Bahru Districts to the east. Etymology The name of ...

, Johor, Malaysia on the Straits of Johor. The island is dominated by

mangrove swamp Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fre ...

Conservation

Map of Singapura by Godinho de Erédia 1604

Pulau Merambong is located within the single largest

seagrass bed A seagrass meadow or seagrass bed is an underwater ecosystem formed by seagrasses. Seagrasses are marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and in the brackish waters of estuaries. Seagrasses are flowering plants with stems and ...

in the country. The bed extends from the island right up to the estuary of Pulai River in Johor. Dugongs and seahorses which feed on seagrass made their home in the nearby coral reefs. Environmentalists are concerned that the development of Port of Tanjung Pelepas is threatening the area and the livelihood of seahorses as well as dugongs and turtles. The island is planned to be gazette as a nature park with various environmental based NGOs funding it.

Sovereignty

In the aftermath of the International Court of Justice ruling that saw Pedra Branca being awarded to Singapore, concerns on Malaysian sovereignty over Pulau Merambong have been raised. To alleviate the concern, the

Straits Settlement and Johore Territorial Waters Agreement of 1927 The Straits Settlement and Johore Territorial Waters Agreement of 1927The agreement appears as a schedule in the ''Straits Settlements and Johore Territorial Waters (Agreement) Act 1928'' which was enacted on 3 August 1928 by the Parliament of th ...

which clearly states the ownership of the island has been cited.

Singaporean incident

On 13 April 2007, two Interceptor Crafts of the Special Task Squadron were on ambush duty off Tuas in the vicinity of

Tuas Jetty Tuas is a planning area located within the West Region of Singapore. It is bounded by the Western Water Catchment to its north, Pioneer to its east and the Straits of Johor to its west. Tuas also shares a maritime boundary with the Western Island ...

, when a speedboat with six illegal immigrants and cartons of cigarettes intruded into Singapore's territorial waters at about 9:30pm. The speedboat sped off when approached by the police, resulting in a five-minute chase which ended with a collision between one of the crafts and the speedboat near Pulau Merambong. PK 50 capsized, while the speedboat was completely wrecked. Two officers were rescued from the scene within minutes with minor injuries, while another two were found dead. Three passengers on the intruding vessels were also rescued, and a fourth man found dead. The rest of the passengers were still missing.

References

{{coord, 1, 19, N, 103, 37, E, display=title, region:MY_type:isle_source:GNS-enwiki Malaysia–Singapore border Islands of Johor Pontian District Uninhabited islands of Malaysia

Conservation

Sovereignty

Singaporean incident

See also

References