Residents unhappy with proposed mini theme park nearby their homes in Melaka

Residents at the Tun Sri Lanang Flats in Pengkalan Rama here are unhappy over the proposed construction of a mini theme park just several metres away from their homes.

Located next to the Malacca River, the theme park is to include a monorail train, a roller-coaster and glider that would be built less than 10 metres away from two blocks of the five-storey flats housing 110 families.

The other shocking information was the fact that the Malacca History City Council had acquired some 668 square metres of the flat’s common area for the proposed project without even calling the residents for a dialogue.

Kota Melaka MP Sim Tong Him, who visited the site early last week, said that residents were unhappy that they were not informed of the project earlier although the plans were initiated late last year.

Inconvenient: Residents at the Tun Sri Lanang Flat are upset that the project is located less than 10m away from their homes.

“We are considering looking at legal options to see if the council is allowed to acquire private property for a project that is not entirely beneficial to the general public but more for tourism purposes,” he said in an interview.

He added that the city council could have at least consulted the residents to get their feedback before going ahead with the acquisition.

Besides sending the city council a letter of protest signed by the residents, Sim said that he would try to arrange a meeting between the flat dwellers and the authorities.

A resident who wanted to be known as Chang said : “I am not against the project but only its location because it is so close to our homes. I am worried of the noise pollution and the possibility of mishap occurring,”

Meanwhile, when contacted, city council Mayor Yusof Jantan confirmed that the proposed project was part of the council’s plant to further develop the Malacca River as a tourist attraction.

“It’s is a proposal by the state which is being undertaken by the council.

“We had acquired only what was necessary in October last year after an agreement from the landowners,” he said,

He admitted that there would be slight inconvenience during initial construction work, adding that the project was scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

Source : STAR
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