Photo via Berita Harian
The Pahang state government is working towards making Malaysia’s second-largest freshwater lake, Tasik Chini, a new state park and forest reserve for tourists.
All mining and logging activities around the lake will be halted indefinitely, to allow the area to rehabilitate.
The Pahang Tourism, Culture, Environment, Plantations and Commodities Committee agreed that the lake should be gazetted as a permanent forest reserve so that it cannot be tampered with or destroyed at will.
“Steps to gazette this area need to be taken so that the future generation can still enjoy the beauty of nature, in pristine condition, free from logging or mining activities,” said committee chairman Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin.
“This effort, which begins now, will enable Tasik Chini to recover within the next 10 to 20 years,” he added.
Photo via Tourism Pahang
In case you didn’t know, historians believe that Tasik Chini is the ancient site of a city under the former Khmer Empire (Cambodia), and locals believe that the lake is guarded by a ‘Loch Ness’ type monster named Naga Sri Gumum.
Of course, there are stories that the monster had been “sighted” before, but they were never scientifically proven.
The surrounding areas of the lake are inhabited by people of the Jakun tribe, who still live their old, traditional way of life.
Tasik Chini is also one of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status sites in Peninsular Malaysia, while the other is Crocker Range in East Malaysia.
Have you been to Tasik Chini?
by Kyle Roshen Jacob
