GE15: Candidates focus on turning Jerantut district as a tourist destination

JERANTUT, Nov 14 (Bernama) -- Apart from Kuala Tahan National Park, Jerantut district has several other places that have the potential to be featured as a tourism product to support the local economy.

Realising this, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Jerantut parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15) Datuk Mohd Zukarmi Abu Bakar said that one of the popular sites that should be highlighted is Bukit Buluh or better known as Bukit Merah which is situated at FELDA Padang Piol here.

"This hill is popular as it covered with trees that have stunning red leaves and the colourful surroundings is a unique experience to those who go hiking there," he told Bernama.

"Jerantut is also popular for Pahang traditional dishes such as sambal hitam which are produced by the local residents. A one-stop centre can be set up for tourists to get these local products as souvenirs and at the same time, allow the local residents to earn some income," he said.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Khairil Nizam Khirudin who also sees Jerantut as a tourism potential aims to promote the area to those who want to gain spiritual experience or enlightenment as there are 14 tahfiz centres in this largest district of Pahang.

The PAS Central information chief said that this could be done by creating tourism packages that include visiting the tahfiz centres to listen to religious talks after a trip to Taman Negara.

Khairil Nizam said delicacies produced by local residents such as gulai asam rong and murtabak Jerantut Ferry could also be put on sale as visitors to the area would often return to look for them.

Meanwhile Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Datuk Dr Hassan Basri Awang Mat Dahan also agreed that the district could be promoted as a tourist destination and more chalets and other types of accommodation should be made available here.

"Provide the young people here with funding to enable them to operate accommodation facilities which could at the same time create job opportunities for others.

"However, in an effort to promote tourism the environment must be preserved and  protected from harmful activities," said the former Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) vice-chancellor.

According to the Election Commission (SPR) there are 87,051 registered electors in Jerantut parliamentary constituency, 20,895 electors are under Tahan state constituency, Damak (​34,967) and Pulau Tawar (31,189).

Polling is on Saturday (Nov 19).

-- BERNAMA