New Park at Mont Kiara

Here's an article about the development of a new city park in the Mont Kiara area near where I live. Why am I putting this in my blog? Because the area concerned is the jungle I've written about in past blogs. It is this jungle where I spend many a Saturday walking the trails, watching the monkeys, side-stepping the snakes, and sometimes, getting lost. Here's a few links about my walks there: Weekend Jungle Walks, Jungle Walking in Mont Kiara, and Jungle Jumble

I'm going to miss that place. Hopefully the design and implementation of the park will enhance the area. I'll stay optimistic for now.

Huge Park at Bukit Kiara
Sprawling green lung to be the size of 300 football fields
By Ng Si Hooi (The Star, Friday 29 June 2007)

Kuala Lumpur: The 188.93ha (466.86 acres) public park, equivalent to the size of about 300 football fields, will be in Bukit Kiara here.

The biggest park in the country will be bounded by Taman Lembah Kiara in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, the KL Golf and Country Club and Sri Hartamas, said Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting yesterday.

“The park is our own version of London’s Hyde Park or New York’s Central Park. The park will reflect Malaysia’s identity.

“It will be a sprawling green lung recreational park for city folks to relax in and enjoy Mother Nature. The park will change the image of the city as a concrete jungle,” Ong said.

He said the theme for the park was “design with nature” and not only the natural habitat of the area would be preserved but more trees would be planted too.

“We want to make sure this park retains its identity by adding more greenery to make it more attractive and environment friendly,” he said., adding that the Government would decide on the name of the park later.

He said the park would have various facilities, including jogging and bicycle paths, and space for people to have picnics or camp and courts for various sports like basketball,” he said.

“The public can take part in various activities such as hill climbing and biking, science exploration on flora and fauna, and study tours to the arboretum and herbarium,” he said.

A portion of the park will be reserved for research and development projects.

Ong said the planning and designing of the park would be done by the National Landscape Department under his ministry together with other related agencies including Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute.

He said the Cabinet approved the proposal presented by his ministry together with the Federal Territories Ministry on Wednesday, and his ministry would build and mange the park.

“The Cabinet feels that it should turn Kuala Lumpur and its surrounding areas to be a place for healthy living and a better sustainable environment for the people. We should save the limited green areas now before it is too late,” he said.

He said the park was on land owned by the Government as 146.3ha was under the purview of DBKL while the remaining area belonged to the Information Ministry.


Zulhasnan: It will be a landmark

Kuala Lumpur: Federal Territories Minister Datuk Zulhasnan Rafique said the proposed public park is a joint effort between his ministry and the Housing and Local Government Ministry and will be another important landmark and attraction similar to London’s Hyde Park for both locals and tourists.

“It’ll be a place where KL-ites can have recreational activities in a relaxing atmosphere that is environmentally friendly.

“It will also be a significant effort towards environment conservation, which is one of the cores of the ministry’s strategic plan.

“We will always give special importance towards environment conservation efforts and I hope that the KL park will be another activity-based centre which is aligned with the gree cause.

“I believe that the park will put Kuala Lumpur on the map as one of the top tourist spots in the world for parks just like in many developed countries.”

“We will slowly be seeing the expansion and redevelopment of many existing parks in Kuala Lumpur so that the public will be able to enjoy the facilities with their families,” he said.

Friends of Bukit Kiara, a group that has long supported the idea of keeping the area green, are not jumping for joy until more details are available.

It’s chairman Liew Khooi Cheng, 68, said as long as there are no buildings in the park then he was all for it.