The Perak state government's proposal to build a cable car project on Bukit Larut may not only turn out to be another white elephant, but may also cause irreversible damage to its water catchment area, Fomca warns.

The president of the national consumer body, N Marimuthu, said: "The cable car project could well destroy the fragility of Bukit Larut's natural environment, for the hill has been classified as having a very high risk of erosion based on rainfall and soil characteristics.

liberal forum privatisation marimuthu "There is very little space for development on the hill and a study has shown that the unstable nature of its steep slopes, coupled with the high erosion risk, can trigger massive landslides if earthworks and the removal of trees are carried out," warned Marimuthu ( left ).

He is also the president of the Education and Research Association for Consumers (ERA Consumer).

In 1999, ERA Consumer had published a 150-page report - "A Biological Management Study of Bukit Larut and Its Surroundings, Perak" - carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Malaysia.

The report states that the hill receives an average annual rainfall of 5,030mm compared withTaiping, which lies at its foot, that gets an average annual rainfall of 4,318mm - the highest for a low-lying area in the peninsula.

I mportance of catchment areas stressed

It has been estimated that the annual soil loss around Bukit Larut is more than 150 tonnes per hectare. The report therefore recommends that Bukit Larut be gazetted only for low-impact eco-tourism projects because of its ecological sensitivity and rich bio-diversity.

The reasons cited for advising against mass tourism are Bukit Larut's rich bio-diversity, its importance as a water catchment area hydrological functions that should remain undisturbed.

NONE Bukit Larut's attractions for mass tourism, are considered inferior compared with other hill resorts in the peninsula such as Cameron Highlands, Fraser's Hill and Genting Highlands.

However, out of around 1,980 flowering plant species, 1,449 are believed to have their origin on the hill itself, making it one of the richest areas of flora within the country, compared with Fraser's Hill and Genting Highlands, which are known for their 834 and 460 species respectively.

Marimuthu also questioned the logic of undertaking the RM65 million cable car project for sightseeing purposes as Bukit Larut has nothing to boast about as a tourist attraction.

A tulip garden on the hill served as one, but it closed shop about 10 years ago.

His argument is that nature lovers preferred the slow government jeep ride of 30 minutes up the 13km road, with 72 hairpin bends, to the the peak to watch nature at its best.

Poor visibility

Often, he said, the upper portion of Bukit Larut was blanketed in thick mist, making visibility a problem and a ride in the proposed cable car would only bring frustration to visitors as only the top of the forest canopy could be viewed.

Taking these factors into consideration, Marimuthu predicted that the cable car craze would fizzle out within a year or two and become another white elephant having to be heavily subsidised by the state government.

The state should consider carefully the financial viability of the project in view of its high cost and the possibility of low returns.

NONE Marimuthu pointed out that lessons should have been learnt from previous failed projects such as the airport in Pulau Pangkor, which had caused untold damage to the environment.

Fomca does not want the same fate to befall Bukit Larut, as its catchment area supplies water to some 500,000 residents in the Larut-Matang-Selama district.

"Can the state government guarantee these residents that it will restore the water catchment area to it original state in case the cable car project fails?" he asked.

Marimuthu claimed that the Save Bukit Larut campaign website has registered 60,000 hits.

He also and wants more supporters to sign up to the Bukit Larut Facebook page to show their support for the campaign.

He pointed out that the move to develop Bukit Larut goes against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stand that states will be encouraged to gazette forests, water catchments and other protected areas.

Najib had said this when tabling the Tenth Malaysia Plan in Parliament last week, adding that areas serving as biodiversity reservoirs and watersheds will be classified as environmentally sensitive areas where limited or no development will be permitted and its eco-tourism potential explored.