Susi Pudjiastuti's Firm Voice, Permits For Floating Net Cages On The East Coast Of Pangandaran Must Be Revoked

PANGANDARAN - Former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti stated that the existence of floating net cages (KJA) on the East Coast, Pangandaran Regency, West Java, had harmed the tourism sector so that permits should be revoked and moved to other locations.

"The floating camp should be lifted and moved from the East Pangandaran Beach," said Susi on the sidelines of the community's action against KJA at the Susi Air Beach Strip, Pangandaran, Antara, Wednesday, August 12.

According to Susi, the distance between KJA, which is only about 200 meters from the beach, has disrupted the activities of fishermen and water tourism actors. He emphasized that the public will continue to fight for KJA's permit to be revoked.

"If you want to be at Pangandaran Beach, (it's located) 12 miles there, not on the sea side where there are many people," he said.

Susi added that the rules prohibiting KJA from being too close to the coast, especially if it interferes with economic sectors such as tourism and fisheries.

The East Coast, he said, is a safe tourist destination for swimming and other water rides so that cleanliness and beauty must be maintained.

"If there are many tourist activities in Pangandaran, we must maintain beauty, we must maintain cleanliness," he said.

According to him, Pangandaran is the area with the most marine tourism visits on the island of Java, which is around 46 million tourists per year who provide a living for the local community.

Susi emphasized that her refusal was not related to political interests, but was purely to maintain marine ecosystems and maintain tourism. He said the KJA permit could be revoked according to the rules if there were public objections.

"Karena ada izinnya, maka kita harus izinnya ini tidak boleh dilanjutkan, tetapi dicabut. Nanti akan ada nota keberatan ke bupati, nanti ke Bandung (Kantor Gubernur)," katanya.

Sebelumnya, berbagai kelompok masyarakat Pangandaran menggelar aksi dan deklarasi menolak keberadaan KJA di Pantai Timur. Aksi itu dihadiri Bupati Pangandaran Citra Pitriyami, mantan Bupati Jeje Wiriadinata, serta sejumlah tokoh masyarakat dan pelaku usaha wisata.

"Because there is a permit, then we must not continue this permit, but it will be revoked. Later there will be a memorandum of objection to the regent, later to Bandung (Governor's Office)," he said.

Previously, various Pangandaran community groups held actions and declarations against the presence of KJA on the East Coast. The action was attended by the Regent of Pangandaran Citra Pitriyami, former Regent Jeje Wiriadinata, as well as a number of community leaders and tourism business actors.