Tourist village now an eyesore

(NST) ALOR STAR: It was touted to be the latest and one of the biggest tourist attractions in the state. However, the “Kampung Tradisional” in Gunung Keriang here is fast becoming an eyesore.

Barely six months after its completion, the RM6.4 million Malay traditional village, built near the Kedah Padi Museum at the foot of Gunung Keriang, is in a bad state of neglect.

Instead of a scenic and tranquil landscape, visitors to the village, a project mooted under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, are greeted by tall weeds and thick undergrowth in most parts of the one-hectare site.

A New Straits Times check on most of the 16 wooden Malay houses, which are meant to provide local and foreign visitors a taste of traditional Malay lifestyle, shows they are in a bad state of disrepair, with gaping holes in most of the rooftops.

The traditional Malay village, meant to be a tourist attraction, is now overgrown with weeds. – NST picture by Shahrizal Md Noor

Other facilities, including a multi-purpose hall and a cafe, are also in dire need of repair. A thick undergrowth has also invaded the public toilets.

State Tourism Action Council managing director Rosli Abu Bakar, when contacted, said the Malay traditional village was an effort by the federal authorities to lure more visitors to Kedah.

He said the village, upon its completion in March, was handed over to the state authorities.

“We are not sure what the state government has in store for the village.

“We hope that steps will be taken fast to repair the facilities or the village will become a white elephant and a waste of public funds.”

State Tourism Committee chairman S. Manikumar said he would meet with Tourism Malaysia to find ways to better manage the traditional village.

“We will discuss, among others, who exactly will run the place.”