Chief Minister of Penang defends tiger park idea

GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has defended his proposal to start a tiger park in Relau, saying that the state needed a new eco-tourism project.

“Some people have suggested a zoo but it is not economical to have one presently. The people, especially children, are generally interested in big animals. The ‘wow’ factor is there,” he said when asked to elaborate on his idea. Lim had announced that the state government planned to create a tiger park on a 40ha plot owned by the Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) known as the Pondok Durian Cap Kaki.

He said Penang, in its pursuit to become an international city, should have such a park as most international cities had zoos. The park could have a few other animals but it would mainly feature tigers which symbolised bravery and dynamism, he added. “It will be a private-driven project and a tender will be called if the state government goes ahead with the plan.

“Currently the state is collecting public feedback. Those who want to contribute ideas or suggestions can write to the state government in Komtar or the MPPP,” he added.

The project, he said, would also help the state government and the MPPP tackle illegal farming activities at the proposed site. It was reported earlier that the proposal had received negative feedback from the public and several non-governmental organisations like the Malaysian Nature Society Penang branch. They are concerned about the safety issues and felt that the state should concentrate on promoting Penang’s heritage, culture and arts.

Meanwhile, Penang National Park and Wildlife Department director Noor Alif Wira Osman said the state government and private parties involved in the project would have to iron out legal problems if the plan goes ahead. He said it was not like setting up a bird park. “The location for the park must be suitable. The safety around the tiger enclosures and surrounding areas is also a main priority,” he said, adding that the care for the tigers would also be subjected to close monitoring by the department. “There are strict guidelines to follow to get the permit,” he said.

By LOOI SUE-CHERN, The Star.


From the above article, we can see that Penang's Chief Minister has included public participation within a very environmental sensitive development. The MPPP has gotten various feedback from the the public regarding what they think about the project.

Based on the feedback that were given by the public and NGOs, it is not a positive reaction from the public, althought this might sound bad to the state government or the chief himself, but bare in mind that the public had voiced there concern and that the government has to take in consideration of what the public in order to fully tackle the urban planning problem, this also shows that penangites are very active in urban planning participation.

But i really wish that MPPP could had set up a Public Participation online portal whereby everyone can post there comments online, this way we can all see the comments and further addon it and the speed and quality of communication between the public and administrative could be better. They could also upload plans and 3D image of the park and it's surrounding so that penangites can have a better picture of what is happening.

For my personal oppinion, i really think that the idea of a tiger park is kind of "out of the box" because it is so not Penang to me. And is it the only way to tackle illegal farming, don't we have government officers to do that? What R they doing? If we r going to have a development to stop this illegal farming why don't we have a casino, this way MPPP can make revenue out of the TAX and still stop illegal farming. Therefore, to the people digging their brains for this tiger park idea, please u all can do better.

What we need to focus on is the G.Town area, to improve and conserve the heritage and cultural elements of G.Town, Relau is no where near as important as G.Town to Penang Island, focus on those that are really broken. but if MPPP want to have a circus display like Malacca i hope that they know that Penangites aren't sitting ducks.