Most people meet this charge at a jetty, in cash, minutes before the boat leaves, with nothing budgeted for it. It is small, it is set in law, and it covers more of Malaysia’s coast than the islands people link it with. The Department of Fisheries publishes the rates and rules on its own pages.
What you pay
The department gives the legal basis: “Visitors to Marine Parks Malaysia are required to pay a Conservation Charge. This is in-line with Fees Act 1951, Fees (Marine Parks Malaysia) Order 2017.”
| MyKad holder | Non-MyKad holder | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | RM 5.00 | RM 30.00 |
| Children 6 to 12, and seniors 60 and above | RM 2.00 | RM 15.00 |
| Disabled | Free | Free |
A foreign adult pays six times the Malaysian rate. That is the normal shape of Malaysian conservation pricing: at Mount Kinabalu, a foreign climber pays four times the Malaysian permit.
The department also says where the money goes: “government revenue put into the Marine Parks and Marine Reserves Trust Fund which will be used for the purpose of management and maintenance of Marine Parks to provide facilities and comfort to visitors.”
Islanders are exempt: “Exemption is given to all residents residing on islands surrounded by Marine Parks.”
The park is the sea around the island
This definition decides whether you pay:
“Marine Park is a sea zoned area that spans for a distance of two nautical miles from the lowest sea level, except in Kapas Island in Terengganu, Kuraman Island, Rusukan Besar Island and Rusukan Kecil Island in Labuan. These areas are zoned for a distance of 1 nautical mile from the lowest sea level.”
The protected area is the water, measured from the lowest sea level rather than the beach. Kapas and the three Labuan islands get one nautical mile instead of two.
Six parks, 49 islands
“Today, the waters around Malaysia’s 49 islands are gazetted as Marine Parks.” They make up six parks, all gazetted under the Fisheries Act 1985:
- Johor, also called Pulau Tinggi Marine Park: 20 islands including Tinggi, Sibu, Rawa, Pemanggil and Aur, between 8 and 35 nautical miles from Mersing
- Kedah, also called Pulau Payar Marine Park: Payar, Lembu, Kaca and Segantang, about 19 nautical miles south of Langkawi
- Pahang: Tioman and eight neighbours including Tulai, Labas, Sepoi and Cebeh, about 32 nautical miles east of Tanjung Gemok
- Terengganu: four archipelagos, Redang, Perhentian, Kapas and Tenggol
- Melaka: Undan, Dodol and Nangka, the first about 5 kilometres from Pernu jetty and roughly 20 minutes out
- Labuan: Kuraman, Rusukan Kecil and Rusukan Besar
Melaka catches people out. A twenty minute boat ride from the mainland puts you inside a gazetted marine park.
Sabah and Sarawak run their own systems
Every park above is in Peninsular Malaysia or Labuan. Sabah’s islands are not covered by this charge at all, so paying RM 30 in Terengganu tells you nothing about Sabah. Sabah Parks issues its own permits at its own prices, which is why Kinabalu and Sipadan are rationed in a different way, with a conservation fee and a diving fee that are separate charges again.
Divers do not pay the diving fee
The department’s second table lists activity fees:
| Activity | Fee |
|---|---|
| Camping | RM 10.00 per night for each site, limited to four people |
| Research | RM 200.00 for each research, plus a RM 500.00 deposit |
| Commercial filming or documentary | RM 100.00 per day for each filming |
| Scuba diving | RM 150.00 per month for each operator |
| Cruise | RM 100.00 per entry for each sailboat or cruise ship |
Scuba diving is RM 150 a month for each operator, a licence cost the dive shop pays whatever number of dives you do. If a dive centre bills you a government diving fee per person, it is a different charge, so ask what it is.
Camping works the same way: RM 10 pays for the site, and the site takes four people at most.
What the pages leave out
- Where and when you pay. In practice it is at the jetty before boarding, but the department does not commit to that. Ask the boat operator when you book.
- Whether it is per entry or once per trip. That matters if your itinerary leaves the park and comes back, or visits two parks in a week.
- The rate for a child under six. The table starts at age six.
The counters are informal and none of these pages mentions a card. Take cash.