Long overdue project near Lata Kinjang include sprucing up waterfall area

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I want the Forestry Department to reconsider its plan to rename Lata Kinjang as Lata Kinjang Forest Eco-Park as the new name does not refect the actual attraction which is the waterfall itself.- HAMIDAH OSMAN

THE plan to have a Rest and Service Area (RSA) near Lata Kinjang in Chenderiang, Tapah, mooted in 2005, will be revived following efforts by the state to discuss the matter with PLUS Expressways and the Tourism Ministry.

State Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Hamidah Osman hoped that the long overdue project would begin soon.

“Under the plan, the RSA allows North-South Expressway (NSE) users to park their cars and walk to the country’s highest waterfall,” she said.

Speaking to reporters after attending a briefing on a planned upgrade at the waterfall by the Forestry Department at the Tapah district council office recently, Hamidah said there were also plans to create an access route to the waterfall.

“But this will require long-term planning and a longer time to be realised,” she added.

The idea to have a RSA and access route to the waterfall was mooted by former Mentri Besar Tan Sri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali in 2005 but nothing had taken place to-date.

On the planned upgrade, Hamidah, who is also state senior exco member, said the Forestry Department had been allocated RM1.7mil by the Tourism Ministry to spruce up the waterfall area.

It will include construction of a new archway, visitors’ information centre, toilets and information boards.

The upgrading works are expected to be completed by next April (2012).

“However, I want the department to reconsider its plan to rename Lata Kinjang as Lata Kinjang Forest Eco-Park as the latter name does not reflect the actual attraction which is the waterfall itself,” she said.

Lata Kinjang is the highest waterfall in peninsular Malaysia and is visible from the NSE.

While ‘Lata’ is waterfall in Malay, the word ‘kinjang’ came about when a British officer mispronounced ‘kijang’ - the Malay word for deer — when he saw a group of the animal crossing the waterfall during his visit to a nearby village in 1800.

The waterfall is located 3km from Chenderiang. Those coming from the NSE can take the Tapah exit and continue north on the trunk road following the signage to Chenderiang.