www.ipohecho.com.my FREE COPY DELIVERY The Ipoh Echo is being delivered right to your doorstep by your newsvendor. IPOH Call your news vendor echoechoYour Voice In The Community NOW! 30 SEN FOR DELIVERY TO YOUR DOORSTEP – July 16-31, 2010 PP 14252/10/2010(025567) ISSUE ASK YOUR NEWSVENDOR 101 Come and Join Us in Celebrating our 100th Issue Milestone Presenting ‘Voices of The Ipoh Community’ An evening of song and dance showcasing Ipoh’s homegrown talents. Friday, August 6, Impiana (ex Casuarina) Hotel, 7.30 p.m. Priced at RM550 per table or RM55 per ticket. Dinner, lucky draw prizes including two Firefly tickets to Singapore. Call Leong:05-2495936 or Veronica: 05-2495937. Gazetting Kinta Nature Park A Contribution For Future Generations By James Gough Photos by Jek Yap and Ooi Beng Yean inta Nature Park, a heritage from the tin mining industry in the Kinta Valley, is acclaimed to be one of the Kbiggest bird sanctuaries in the country. Its existence is however threatened by the incursions of commercial activities. Wildlife conservationists are worried and want the authorities to do something to protect the park quickly. The park emerged after mining operations ceased and the ponds surrounded by secondary jungle began to attract more than 130 species of birds. One of the islands in the cluster of 14 pristine ex-mining ponds has also become the largest heronry in the country. It will be a waste if the potential of developing the area as a tourist attraction is ignored. It could be the best place for bird-watching. Almost 60% of the birds are listed as totally protected or protected under the Protection of Wild Life Act 1976. Continued on page 2 2 July 16-31, 2010 IPOH ECHO Your Voice In The Community Threat to Its Existence he threat to the exist- mercial fish farming. for years. gazetted we will mark the Tence of the park is Other commercial There are at least 2 boundary and stop all com- Ecotourism Activities very real. There have been activities in the area in- huge duck farms in the mercial activities within, According to Lee, due to reports of instances where cluded sand extraction and area and the nutrient run- similar to what is being its size MNS had proposed a whole pond with five duck farms. Although the off from that is very dam- done at Royal Belum.” the park to be divided into breeding species of 2,000 authorities are readily ad- aging to the freshwater three zones which would water-birds is located, had mitting that such activities ecosystem. Sand mining About The Park cater for the public such as been fenced up with the are illegal, somehow they appears to be sporadic. The Kinta Nature Park is the current visitors centre, intention of starting com- have been operating there School groups which were located 6 km south of Batu another zone for recrea- there have counted at least Gajah. It is a strip of land tional activities like camp- 5/6 truck loads per hour wedged between the Kinta ing and hiking, and a third leaving the area, causing a River on the west and the zone for natural habitat. “If real problem for the many railway track to the east. MNS Vice Chairman the park is able to recover bee-eaters that nest in the The Kampar River is on Lee Ping Kong and rejuvenate naturally it area (bee-eaters nest in the south. It covers an area has the potential to be simi- sand banks). As the sand of 900 hectares of mining commercial activities must lar to an open zoo where banks get destroyed, so are land that had been dredged be stopped. Sand mining visitors can drive in and the bee-eaters. for tin. By mid 1980’s when contributes to deforestation view animals living in their Ten years have the tin industry collapsed, ,while duck farming and natural habitat. It would be passed since the Perak the land was left idle al- fish harvesting affects our contribution to future Government announced lowing it to rejuvenate and the supply of food; all of generations.” that the park is in the proc- heal itself. In time it began which severely affects Eco-Resort Director, ess of being gazetted as attracting water-birds and the ecosystem within the Bridget Hedderman a wildlife sanctuary, yet had become a habitat for a park.” who operates the Roots nothing has been done. If variety of wildlife. According to Lee the Eco-Resort at Tanjung all goes well, it will be of- Rambutan, has included ficially gazetted as a State the nature park as one of Nature Park soon. her tour destinations, and According the state describes the park as “com- chairman of tourism, Dato’ pletely amazing. It’s the Hamidah Osman, the plan largest heronry in Malaysia has been approved. “ Now and it is easily accessi- we have to identify which ble”, Bridget rated the site department is going to at 9 out of 10 in quality. manage the park as it re- Over the last four months quires manpower for main- Bridget has exposed three taining the park, keeping groups of students from the visitors’ area clean, Singapore, Hong Kong and tidying the parks and also locally to the park. enforcement of the rules Dato Hamidah with students from the Hong Kong Jek Yap of Kinta governing nature parks. School Heritage told Ipoh Echo “Once the park is One of the ponds, number of birds recorded that Kinta Heritage has Lake Pucung, is over 41 ha nesting on Pucung Island a committed to maintaining KOON YEW YIN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FINANCE/ wide. It is where the visi- year ago numbered 3,000. cleanliness of the park and ACCOUNTANCY DEGREES tor’s area and observation With the disruption to the will send a clean-up crew tower can be found over- ecosystem MNS has noted twice a week to clean the Pre-degree or Foundation Course looking an island, where a drop “of more than 50% toilets and other public Pays for all the fees and cost of living until the PTPTN loan is secured. five major families of her- of the bird population.” The areas. The gazetting of Criteria: ons and egrets have made park is also a safe haven to the park is also timely and • Scholarship based on eventual acceptance by UTAR it a permanent home. a large number of small would be a positive factor • Total family income is less than RM2,000 per month. The Malayan Nature mammals such as otters, should the proposal to turn • No payback, only the commitment to help other poor students Society (MNS) in the mid and civet cats (musang) the Kinta Valley into a tin and has a record of 80 spe- heritage site become a when financially solvent after graduation. nineties, being aware of the potential biodiversity of cies of flora and fauna, one reality. Send request with IC details, proof of family income to: this location, made a pro- of which is the endangered According to Hamidah [email protected] posal to the relevant state Vanda Hookeriana, a par- the park is “an environ- authorities to set aside the ent species of the orchid ment that cannot be cre- area as a gazetted nature Vanda Miss Joachim. ated. In fact we can pack- park to be used for recrea- A quick check with age this park together with tion, tourism and educa- the District Officer of the dredge which is just a tion. Kampar, Encik Ahmad few km from the southern According to Mr Kamaruzamman Hisham, boundary of the park and Lee Ping Kong, MNS who has jurisdiction over promote it as a living herit- vice-chairman, the State the park, revealed that his age”. Government in 2001, then office had stopped issuing Apparently Lee is under Menteri Besar Dato’ sand mining licenses two not the only person who Seri Tajol Rosli, approved years ago. As for the duck sees potential in gazetting the creation of the Kinta farms, Ahmad claimed, this park as a nature park. Nature Park. At the same “There are no duck farms. Ipoh Echo hopes that all time the state government If there are please make a the promises made will be- built the existing infra- report to us and we will come reality soon. structure such as, the take action.” observation tower resting huts and public toilets at a total cost of RM625,000 and indicated it would subsequently gazette the area as a nature park. Unfortunately till today, the park has yet to be officially gazetted which “is a cause for concern for Illegal fishing MNS”, said Lee. “Illegal Your Voice In The Community IPOH ECHO July 16-31, 2010 3 www.ipohecho.com.my IPOH From the Editor’s Desk echoYour Voice In The Community WAY TO GO, IPOHITES! It’s a mind game. We simply don’t have the resolve and wherewithal by Fathol Zaman Bukhari to be and remain clean. Look at Polo Ground. e have been in the lot, Roshidi’s response only sensible thing to do Ipohites continue to suffer totally unexpected, mind- Singapore. The streets publication for is the most poignant as it is to have it demolished. in silence. Do we have an ful of the impression we were clean while the road Wover five years provides a glimpse of our Levelling the building is option? Yes, we do but at have about China. shoulders were spotless. and have heard nothing mayor’s thinking and feel- less hazardous to the eyes what cost? The Chinese have, Although there are 5 mil- but stony silence from the ings.