LENGGONG – Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah today proclaimed Lenggong as a geopark and opened the Lenggong Geopark Gallery here.
Also in attendance were Raja Permaisuri of Perak Tuanku Zara Salim, Raja Muda of Perak Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, Raja Puan Besar of Perak Raja Nazhatul Shima Idris Shah and Raja DiHilir of Perak Raja Iskandar Dzurkarnain Idris Shah.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad were also present.
Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi in his speech, said that the designation of Lenggong as a geopark is one of the efforts to preserve nature’s sustainability and the sustainable management of regions of national interest with extraordinary geosite value.
He said NRES is always supportive of conservation efforts and in the past seven years, through the Minerals and Geosciences Malaysia Department, the National Geopark Committee and the Geopark Implementation Committee, recognised 11 sites as national geoparks.
The geosites recognised in 2017 are Jerai, Kedah and Lembah Kinta, Perak; 2021 (Labuan, Federal Territory and Lenggong, Perak); 2022 (Gombak-Hulu Langat, Selangor, Stong, Kelantan and Sarawak Delta, Sarawak); and 2023 (Kenyir, Terengganu, Perlis and Lipis, Pahang), he said.
Nik Nazmi said the country is also proud to have two Unesco Global Geoparks, namely Langkawi, Kedah (2007) and Kinabalu, Sabah (2023).
Meanwhile, he said, NRES has approved an allocation of RM4 million to the Perak Geosciences Department, under the first to the third Rolling Plan (2021-2023) of the 12th Malaysia Plan to carry out geological studies and research in Lenggong.
The ministry also allocated RM1.1 million through the Small-Scale Projects under the Strategic Programme to Empower the People and the Economy initiative to upgrade the infrastructure at Lenggong Geopark, he said.
The Lenggong Geopark Gallery was opened on December 16 last year and according to Nik Nazmi, it has attracted 2,500 visitors as of February. – March 9, 2024