IPOH, July 8 — Former students of the century-old Ipoh’s Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) can finally breathe a sigh of relief after plans to fell the school’s iconic rain tree have been halted following the intervention of Ipoh Timur MP Wong Kah Woh.
Wong said that he had met with the officials from the Ipoh City Council to stop the process of cutting down the tree.
“Three days ago, the MGS Old Girls met me and requested my help. On Friday, we met several City Council officials, including the heads from landscaping, planning, engineering and architect.
“Under Section 35H of the Town and Country Planning Act, no person is allowed to fell a tree with a girth exceeding 0.8m without the written permission of the local planning authority. This tree falls under this category,” he told Malay Mail.
Wong said the City Council had pasted a notice on the tree as an immediate step to conserve it.
“An orange line was also marked around the tree as a measure to protect it,” he said.
It was learnt that the tree was cut down as the school was planning to add an extension.
On Monday, Malay Mail reported the outcry among former students who did not want the century-old tree to be cut down as it is considered a physical symbol of the institution’s growth over the generations.
The MGS Old Girls’ Association vice-president Linda Hanim Mustaffa said the association had not been informed of the school’s plans to fell the tree and only found out about it when pictures of the tree’s chopped branches began circulating online.
Fellow alumna, Lee Pooi Mun, said the tree is so meaningful and significant to the school’s history that a replica of it was made during the school’s 120th anniversary celebration last year.
