Perak govt: There will be no cable car for Taiping’s Bukit Larut

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 9): Taiping folk who have dreamt of a cable car service for the town’s lovely Bukit Larut may be disappointed.

The Perak government has announced that it will not build such a service for the hill station.

"There are no plans by the state to set up a cable car project. Instead, we will maintain the existing Land Rover service as the main transportation service for Bukit Larut," Perak tourism committee chairman Tan Kar Hing (PKR-Simpang Pulai) said when answering an oral question from Leow Thye Yih (DAP-Pokok Assam) at the state assembly yesterday, reported the Malay Mail.

“At the moment we have between five and seven Land Rover jeeps available, and this number changes depending on maintenance needs. We will try to increase the number of vehicles to improve the transportation service,” Tan added.

He also said that the state administration was worried about the potential damage to Bukit Larut’s environment with the construction of the cable car system, reported the English daily.

Residents who were against the plan and environmentalists are therefore expected to be happy with the news.

“We only plan to improve the observation deck and set up some 'glamping'(glamour camping) spots. We will also improve the food and drink stalls at the foot of the hill,” Tan explained.

Bukit Larut was known as Maxwell Hill and is a highland tourist attraction. The hill is 1,250m above sea level and located about 10km from Taiping.

Built by William Edward Maxwell, a British Assistant Resident in Perak, in 1884, Bukit Larut is reputed to be the oldest hill station in Malaysia.

It was gazetted as a permanent forest reserve ion 1910.