Coral Reef for Sale

It seems that I may as well get in on the act before everyone else sells it before me.

It's true.
Here in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, you can buy our last remaining coral reef.
Going by the price of a small piece of coral broken off the reef and sold in the "pasar malam" (night market) in Port Dickson, I'd be guessing that you can buy the entire reef for around US$10,000.

The market value of this beautiful reef is probably around US$1 million per year in foreign tourist income but nobody seems to be concerned except me.

While one of our esteemed universities has spent years researching, documenting and drafting reports, the locals have been equally busy destroying it and the amusing thing (??) is, everyone knows.

Many years ago, before science discovered the horrible truth, another small reef not far from the present one was also destroyed. A commercial business pumped contaminated water into the Straits of Malacca and that was the end of that.
However, because it's all dead and there is no colour in the reef, people don't steal from there.
Instead, they steal from the living reef.
Don't blame the locals. Nobody explained to them the effects of what they were doing.
Nobody helped them create an alternate income stream through tourism.

Our company has made representations to our state government, our senior politicians and public servants responsible for tourism, but so long as they get their monthly salary, they don't seem to be concerned with their real responsibilities.

At the moment, there's a new politician in power in the area and we can only hope that he will be more compassionate and commercially minded.
So. You had better be quick if you want to buy whatever is left.

During the course of our submissions to the government, we advised that we had all the knowledge, experience and expertise to create the necessary protection while simultaneously creating a controlled tourist industry around this small resource.
Our total budget was RM250,000 (US$77,500) which included all the materials, labour and security to create a marine sanctuary of international standard.

You may be interested to know that it is quite legitimate to buy jewellery and beautiful pieces of art made out of coral.
There are several reputable companies out there making such pieces apparently out of dead coral.
Coral lives and coral dies.
Reputable buyers are very careful from where they buy their raw material.
I don't hesitate to recommend these companies whose products are quite exquisite.
There are also some great books available from Amazon.com with amazing underwater photography showing the coral reefs from Australia, Sipidan, Palau, Cayman and elsewhere.
Don't buy our coral reef, I'm going to do all I can to protect it.