An evening stroll at Mengkuang Dam

You will never walk alone

Visitors thronging the park

Reflection

Fishing is prohibited

Some young visitors feeding fish with bread at the bank

A big round bark on one of the rubber trees

An unusual branch from the same tree

Picnic at the hill slope under the rubber trees

A scenic view from the bank to the main entrance

Hot spot for picture

Sky over Mengkuang Dam

Slope up to the rest area

R & R

A wall of Mengkuang Dam

Not to miss out the beautiful landscape and wonderful spot to relax, Bigfoothill took a quick stroll at the Mengkuang Dam near Bukit Mertajam, Penang.  It will be closed to the public from August 1, 2011 till July 31, 2016 for the dam expansion to cater to the demand for water in the State of Penang in the coming years due to the rising populations and consumption.

There are many visitors on the weekends and it was receiving exceptionally higher number of visitors today.  Many came with their family and friends.  Most of them brought their best digital cameras and equipments to capture the moments as the place are sentimental to many visitors.  It could be the place where many met and fell in love with their spouses, the place where they shoot their outdoor wedding pictures, the place for exercise and jogging with their whole family, young and old. 

The closure of the Mengkuang Dam and recreational park to public is unavoidable.  It is for the benefit of all Penangites to have the expansion to meet the water demand in the future.  In view of the construction activities and the movement of heavy vehicles within the dam and park, it is for the safety of the public that the place is restricted for this period.  Let us bear with the inconveniences for the next five years.  For our safety and also to protect our health from contamination of our drinking water store at the dam, let us hope the government and people can work together to monitor the dam and park throughout the construction period to ensure that we have a better place to continue to enjoy at the end of the project. 

There are many other recreational parks in Seberang Perai and Penang Island that the visitors can do their regular exercises and activities. We need a little effort to go to a new recreational park and adapt to it. Any kind of mass development projects are bound to have some kind of objections from the general public especially those that have been used to the place or the ease of doing their economic and social activities in the surrounding areas. 

For those coffee shops, nearby food stalls and fruits vendors, their livelihoods will definitely be affected most as some of their clients are mostly visitors to the Mengkuang Dam recreational parks beside the locals. Let us hope that they will find new clients from the workers involved in the construction project during this period.

There were many dissenting voices including the politicians when the previous government proposed the construction of the dam back in the 1980's.  Today, the present state government who were once the dissenting voices in the oppositions have to switch roles and work together with the Federal Government to implement the expansion program for the benefit of all Malaysians and visitors to our country.  We cannot promote Penang as World Heritage Sites if the tourists do not have clean and healthy water for drinking and washing.

In fact, this project have been overdue.  You can read the The Star article on this project two years ago.  Bukit Mertajam will definitely reap the benefits from this project as the Dam is situated in its vicinity. There was the centralized sewage project at Bukit Minyak that was going on for the past two years. The ongoing railway double tracking is causing its people a lot of inconvenience due to the many road detours and heavy traffic jams daily within town and residential estates as the people commute between their house, offices and schools.  As soon as these projects are completed, we will enjoy a smoother ride home with less congestion.  Meantime, the town have been dusty.

A number of Penangites from the island side have had the impressions that the mainland side of Penang are dusty and dirty since many years ago when bigfoothill got to mingle with them.  I hope this perception will change someday in the future. Dirty?  Any part of our country are dirty if we are all throwing and dumping rubbish everywhere we set foot on.  It is everyone's duty to keep our environment clean and make it a habit not to litter at our convenience. Look at our other recreational parks that have so much waste plastic bottles and other wastes that got stranded on our drains and rivers. I am sure we have seen people who throw rubbish out from their cars while driving on Malaysian roads.  Can't we keep it in our vehicle till we park next to the rubbish bin and dispose the rubbish?

It is also hope that the government and contractors will replace and replant the trees uprooted in the course of the implementation of the the mega projects, upon completion as rapidly as they chopped it down and bulldozed it when they started the projects. Many times, we lack the will power and enforcement to get the contractors to deliver what is promised under the plan including the compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) reports to green the place after the project is completed. Measures should be put in place to hold back the retention fund until full satisfaction of a job well done.  May the local councils monitor this compliance and may the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) be more active in this area for the community instead of being political. Let us love Mengkuang Dam, Bukit Mertajam and our Mother Earth.