Urgent repairs to park in Batu Pahat

POPULAR recreational area Hutan Lipur Soga Perdana in Batu Pahat, Johor, will be undergoing repairs to improve its condition and safety.

Johor health and environment committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said the state government allocated emergency funds of RM100,000 while waiting for the Federal Government to address the matter.

He said a councillor from Batu Pahat Municipal Council had raised the issue of the park’s damaged bridges and hiking tracks in April.

“In May, Penggaram assemblyman Gan Peck Cheng also highlighted the issue at the state legislative assembly sitting.

“I immediately asked the Forestry Department to look into the matter.

“On May 18, the state director conducted a visit to the park and submitted a detailed report to me,” he said in an interview.

Ling said the Johor Forestry Department had applied for an allocation of RM500,000 from the Federal Government to upgrade the park’s existing facilities but had yet to receive an answer.

He then took the matter to the state government, which agreed to provide RM100,000 for urgent repairs to ensure the safety of visitors.

Ling said the project would be open for tender soon, with works expected to begin in August and complete in October.

He also said the department would continue seeking funds from related agencies to repair and upgrade deteriorating facilities such as broken fences, toilets, stairways and the observation deck.

According to Ling, the forest reserve spans more than 40ha but only about 4ha is open for recreational purposes.

“The park is popular among hikers, with more than 23,000 visitors last year.

“It received an average of 2,300 to 2,700 visitors each month between March until May this year.

“Organisations in public, private and non-governmental sectors are also encouraged to carry out team and community activities at the park, such as tree planting, garbage collection and environmental conservation programmes.

“This would be in line with the department’s goal of promoting environmental awareness and planting 400,000 trees throughout the state this year,” said Ling.

The forest reserve, also known as Bukit Soga, is located about 3km from Batu Pahat town.