Amid the unsettled dispute over the inclusion of Pendet dance show on ‘Enigmatic Malaysia’ ad and the Malaysian national anthem ‘Negaraku’ which is allegedly copied from the ‘Terang Bulan’ song, a new problem emerged.
Within the past few days, Riau local media reported about a tourism website which claims Jemur Island as Malaysia’s tourist destination.
On Travel Journal and Osvaja.net, Jemur Island is deemed a tourism destination of Selanggor, Malaysia. The website also declares 2° 52' 10 North Latitude and 100° 34' 0 East Longitude as the location of the island.
Meanwhile, world-geographics.com states Jemur Island as a part of Indonesia’s territory.
Based on a research conducted by VIVAnews, the island, which is located on Malaka Strait by the Malaysian border, does belong to Indonesia. Jemur is included in the areas of Rokan Hilir regency, Riau province. It is about 72.4 km away from Bagan Siapi-api and 64.3 km away from Klang Harbor in Malaysia.
Jemur is one of the nine islands in Arwah archipelago. Other islands include Tokong Emas, Tokong Simbang and Labuhan Bilik.
The island has a beautiful sea view with various species of fish, sea creatures and coral reefs which makes it the right place to go fishing and diving. Green turtles can also be found on Jemur.
Aside from its tourism potential, the island also has a historical background. During World War II, the Japanese built their fortress on the island. Today, Jemur remains unpopulated. However, the Indonesian Navy has established one of its stations on the island.