The eighth series of Surfcasting Tourism Malaysia program held at Pantai Tambak Pontian here last Saturday (Nov 9) saw a total of 2,142 entries.

 Dr. Ammar Abd Ghapar, Senior Director of Domestic & Events Division, Tourism Malaysia said the number of entries was also the most recorded since the start of the national level fishing competition series in March.

According to him, the location of the competition is also a tourist attraction, especially for international fishing activities.

“We have gained good momentum with the implementation of this program here. With such good participation, we think it is only right for Johor to make it as one of their signature programs.

"There are plenty of fishing lakes in the country but what is special in Pontian is that it is very close to other neighboring countries including Singapore," he said.

Ammar, who is also the Chief Secretary for Visit Malaysia Year 2020, said besides benefiting the country, the event will also benefit the Johor state as they would also be celebrating Visit Johor Year 2020.

“This is actually one of the events for our preparation for the Visit Malaysia Year (Visit Malaysia) 2020. We are grateful to see the engagement this time around as the anglers that were present were not only among the locals but also many from abroad.

"The competition in Pontian is also good publicity because usually people only know about Pekan Nanas. There are actually many other interesting places like this beach and Tanjung Piai itself," he said.

He also added that the program helped the locals generate income.

“We open up space for them to do business, sell water, food and more. Besides fishing, the anglers can also spend time with their families and visit interesting places here, ”he said.

The competition saw the anglers competing for the grand prize of RM70,000, RM12,000 (second) and RM5,000 (third).