IPOH, June 19 — The state is contemplating gazetting Taiping Lake Park and Bukit Larut as royal lake parks to better protect them.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu said the idea stemmed from a proposal submitted by the youth wings of Perak Pakatan Harapan.
Describing the proposal as interesting, Ahmad Faizal said if approved, no developments would be allowed in the area.
“But we will need to look into it in detail and also seek the Sultan of Perak’s approval on the matter,” he said.
Ahmad Faizal was speaking to reporters at the State Secretariat building here today after presenting funds to partially aided schools.
Deputy Dewan Rakyat speaker Nga Kor Ming was reported by the media as saying last month that former Barisan Nasional state government had cancelled an 8.04ha reserve at Taiping Lake Gardens for commercial purposes.
He had claimed that the cancellation was made on March 1, 2017.
On a separate matter, Ahmad Faizal said the state had not sold the historic Taiping Aerodrome to developers.
Ahmad Faizal said the state had even retrieved a piece of land at the aerodrome from Mentri Besar Incorporated (MB Inc).
“In fact, during the exco meeting earlier today, there was a suggestion that the Land and Mines Department gazette the area as a heritage site,” he said.
Malay Mail had reported on June 14 that some 150 people from a coalition of local civil societies gathered in front of the airstrip at Assam Kumbang here calling on the Perak government to save the 90-year-old Taiping Aerodrome, believed to be the first in the peninsula.
Holding up placards and banners with handwritten messages in Malay, English and Tamil, the demonstrators urged for the protection of the land that had once been a stopover for Amelia Earhart on her historical solo flight around the world and is now rumoured to have been sold to a private developer.
Ahmad Faizal said the protesters should have gotten their facts right before protesting.
“I am amazed at the love shown by the protesters for the site. I invite them to go to the site and clean it up. If they love the state, they should not have protested for something that is not right,” he added.
Last Friday, the group, called Gabungan Pelindung Warisan Taiping (GPWI) and comprising Kelab Cintai Taiping, Taiping Heritage Society, Taiping Tourism Association, Warisan Anak-anak Kampung Pinang, Persatuan Penduduk Taman Saujana and Pertubuhan Pelindung Khazanah Alam Perak held a protest over the matter after Friday prayers.
GPWI chairman Abu Bakar Mohamed Ali claimed the group was reliably informed that the 16-hectare land owned by the state MB Inc had been sold.
