Native name: ڤولاو مرمبوڠ | |
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Geography | |
Location | Straits of Johor |
Coordinates | 1°18′54″N103°36′36″E / 1.31500°N 103.61000°E |
Area | 0.03 km2 (0.012 sq mi) |
Administration | |
State | Johor |
District | Pontian |
Mukim | Tanjung Kupang |
Pulau Merambong, formerly known as Pulo Ular, is an uninhabited island on the Straits of Johor. The island is dominated by mangrove swamp. It is located just 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) off the coast from Tuas, Singapore. Administratively, it is placed under the Pontian District, Johor, Malaysia.
Pulau Merambong is located within the single largest seagrass bed in the country. The bed extends from the island right up to the estuary of Pulai River in Johor. [1] Dugongs and seahorses, which feed on seagrass, make 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. [2]
In the aftermath of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that saw Pedra Branca being awarded to Singapore, concerns on Malaysian sovereignty over Pulau Merambong have been raised. Some proponents on the Malaysian side have cited the Straits Settlement and Johore Territorial Waters Agreement of 1927 between the British Empire and its Straits Settlements colony claiming that the boundaries between Singapore and Johor were settled. [3] On the Singaporean side, not much thought has been given over Pulau Merambong as of yet.
On 13 April 2007, two Interceptor Crafts of the Special Task Squadron of Singapore's Police Coast Guard (PCG) were on ambush duty off Tuas in the vicinity of Tuas Jetty, when a speedboat with six illegal immigrants and cartons of cigarettes intruded into Singapore's territorial waters at about 9:30 pm from the direction of Malaysia. 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. [4]
Tioman Island is 32 kilometres off the east coast of Rompin District, Pahang, Malaysia. It is 39 kilometres long and 12 kilometres wide and has seven villages, the largest and most populous being Kampung Tekek on the central western coast. The densely forested island is sparsely inhabited, and is surrounded by numerous coral reefs, making it a popular scuba diving, snorkelling, and surfing spot. There are many resorts and chalets for tourists around the island, which has duty-free status.
The Johor Strait is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and Peninsular Malaysia.
Pulau Ubin, also simply known as Ubin, is an island situated in the north east of Singapore, to the west of Pulau Tekong. The granite quarry used to be supported by a few thousand settlers on Pulau Ubin in the 1960s, but only about 40 villagers remained as of 2012. It is one of the last rural areas to be found in Singapore, with an abundance of natural flora and fauna. The island forms part of the Ubin–Khatib Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports significant numbers of visiting and resident birds, some of which are threatened. Today, the island is managed by the National Parks Board, compared to 12 agencies managing different areas of the island previously.
Pedra Branca, also known as Batu Putih, is an outlying island and the easternmost point of Singapore. The name of the island, which is Portuguese for "white rock", refers to whitish guano deposited on the rock. The island consists of a small outcrop of granite rocks with an area of about 8,560 square metres (92,100 sq ft) at low tide. During the low water spring tide it measures, at its longest, 137 metres (449 ft) and has an average width of 60 metres (200 ft). Pedra Branca is situated at 1°19′48″N104°24′27″E, where the Singapore Strait meets the South China Sea.
Pulau Semakau is located to the south of the main island of Singapore, off the Straits of Singapore. The Semakau Landfill is located on the eastern side of the island, and was created by the amalgamation of Pulau Sakeng, and "anchored" to Pulau Semakau. The Semakau Landfill is Singapore's first offshore landfill and now the only remaining landfill in Singapore.
Horsburgh Lighthouse is an active lighthouse which marks the eastern entrance to the Straits of Singapore. It is situated on the island of Pedra Branca. Singapore's earliest lighthouse by date of completion, it is located approximately 54 kilometres (34 mi) to the east of Singapore and 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from the Malaysian state of Johor.
The state of Johor in Malaysia is noted for its national parks and forest reserves which preserve virgin rainforests known for its biodiversity and endangered species of animals. Mangrove swamps and coral reefs are also protected within these parks.
The Malaysia–Singapore border is an international maritime border between the Southeast Asian countries of Malaysia, which lies to the north of the border, and Singapore to the south. The boundary is formed by straight lines between maritime geographical coordinates running along or near the deepest channel of the Straits of Johor.
The Pulai River is a river in Johor, Malaysia. It runs from Mount Pulai in Kulai District until Tanjung Pelepas, draining into the Tebrau Straits. At its mouth lies the single largest seagrass bed in Malaysia, which extends all the way to Pulau Merambong. Sungai Pulai is also a mangrove forest reserve. The site is being studied to help manage the vast mangrove ecosystem, with assistance from University of Technology Malaysia and the National University of Malaysia, in line with the Integrated Management Plan for the sustainable use of mangroves in Johor.
The Police Coast Guard (PCG) is a division of the Singapore Police Force that combines the functions of marine police and coast guard in Singapore. Its duties include the law enforcement and search and rescue operations in collaboration with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority. It is headquartered at Brani Regional Base on Pulau Brani.
Serangoon Harbour is a harbour in Singapore located between the mainland island of Singapore and Pulau Ubin.
The Indonesia–Malaysia border consists of a 1,881 km land border that divides the territory of Indonesia and Malaysia on the island of Borneo. It also includes maritime boundaries along the length of the Straits of Malacca, in the South China Sea and in the Celebes Sea.
The Pulau Pisang Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on the highest point of Pulau Pisang, an island in the Strait of Malacca 15 kilometres from Pontian Kechil, Johor, Malaysia.
The Pedra Branca dispute was a territorial dispute between Singapore and Malaysia over several islets at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait, namely Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge. The dispute began in 1979 and was largely resolved by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2008, which opined that Pedra Branca belonged to Singapore and Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia. Sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to the state in the territorial waters of which it is located.
The Middle Rocks are two uninhabited small rocks separated by 250 metres (820 ft) of open water at the eastern opening of the Strait of Singapore on the western edge of the South China Sea. The islands were disputed territory between Malaysia and Singapore until, on 23 May 2008, the International Court of Justice decided that sovereignty over Middle Rocks belonged to Malaysia by 15 votes to one.
Malaysia–Singapore relations refers to the bilateral relations between Malaysia and the Republic of Singapore, after the expulsion of Singapore from Malaysia in 1965. Singapore has a high commission in Kuala Lumpur and a consulate general in Johor Bahru, while Malaysia has a high commission in Singapore. Both countries are full members of the Commonwealth of Nations and ASEAN.
Johor is a state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore to the south and Indonesia to the east and west. As of 2023, the state's population is 4.09 million, making it the second most populous state in Malaysia, after Selangor. Johor Bahru is the capital city and the economic centre of the state, Kota Iskandar is the state administrative centre and Muar serves as the royal capital.
The Ubin–Khatib Important Bird Area, also known as the North-East Conservation Area , is an 8940 ha tract of largely undeveloped land in north-eastern Singapore on the border with the Malaysian state of Johor. It encompasses the island of Ubin and much of the islands of Tekong and Tekong Kechil, as well as a coastal strip of the main island, including the Lower Seletar Reservoir, with the intervening coastal waters, seagrass beds, mangroves and intertidal mudflats.
The borders of Indonesia include land and maritime borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, and East Timor, as well as shared maritime boundaries with Australia, India, Palau, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.