KOTA BARU: Popular beach resort Pantai Cahaya Bulan here is one of the tourist spots in the state that the Tourism Ministry has identified as dirty. Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the ministry had problems promoting the beach and other sites in the state for fear of being accused by tourists of marketing unsightly locations.

“As the beach is a natural site, all the state government should do is enhance its beauty with proper maintenance work.

“But the lack of maintenance by the local council has resulted in poor cleanliness at the beach,” she told a press conference after attending a Chinese New Year open house held at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce here yesterday.

Dr Ng said the ministry had allocated RM500,000 over the last five years to build basic facilities such as public toilets for the convenience of visitors at the beach.

Altogether, she said the ministry spent RM31 million on the state over the same period to carry out programmes to upgrade, rehabilitate and maintain various tourist sites.

Drift wood and rubbish litter the popular Pantai Cahaya Bulan.

She said other popular tourist spots which suffered the same neglect were Siti Khadijah market here, Pantai Irama in Bachok, Rantau Panjang entry point and Pergau Dam in Jeli.

“The state government should have a master plan for tourism so that the tour products in Kelantan can be properly developed.

“They should also be more tourism-driven as Kelantan has culture, traditional performing arts, foods and nature sites to offer as tourism products.”

Dr Ng said the ministry would now review the ability of local councils nationwide to carry out maintenance work before approving allocations for tourism purposes.

Nationwide, she said Malacca had set the benchmark for keeping its tourist spots in commendable condition.