And what a white elephant it is. Completed in 2003, it cost RM23 million. Then the roof leaked and they needed about RM7 million to repair it. So from sporting the castle towers it now looks like this... zinc roof!
Zinc roof to cover the majestic towers which were leaking. Raindrops turning into music notes on the zinc roof? Originally the repair bill was supposed to be a couple more millions. Makes me wonder how that couple millions only gave rise to the zinc roofing. Supposed to be a yacht club but not a single yacht was in sight. Colourful fishing boats and dinghies though, dotted the villages fronting this majestic castle. We saw a lone guard at this English-looking castle when we walked the 'beach' beside it.
Not just that, this project probably also created an ecological disaster too. It seemed the place used to be covered with a mangrove swamp. But I didn't see a single mangrove tree. Guess all the mangrove trees must have all been cleared up to make way for the never-did-berth-yachts.
What we saw was muddy sea water....plenty of it. The waves rolling in were brown in colour. Mangrove trees serve a purpose. To break the waves so that the water is not muddy. In Kg Sitiawan, Perak, where is also a mangrove swamp, the river water is still clear enough for you to see fish swimming in it.
Look at the layer of mud.. and there are no mangrove roots to break the waves. And this is the only clear stream of water in the whole area. Separated from the rolling waves by a stretch of muddy 'beach', the water ran slowly. See? No waves rolling on muddy area, clear water! But it will be engulfed by the brown murky water once the tide comes in. What could have been a nice place is now dirty looking... from the plane, our country looks like it's surrounded by brown water.
But George managed to locate this big 'fler' while we tried to walk down the once upon a time mangrove swamp. Cockle! One of my favourites. But we decided to leave this fler in that little clear 'stream' that cut through the muddy shore... I've not seen cockles this big for quite some time. Nancy got all excited after this discovery and started digging the mud only to have her leg sink into a thick layer of mud... LOL!
This is hardly a suitable place for a yacht club... it's easy to see. The winds are kinda strong, the water muddy.... the siltation would keep it too shallow for a yacht club. So, how was this project allowed to proceed? No EIA reports? No rehabilitation? Taxpayers money, all gone down the sea, through the Kuala Kedah river mouth!
Not just that, this project probably also created an ecological disaster too. It seemed the place used to be covered with a mangrove swamp. But I didn't see a single mangrove tree. Guess all the mangrove trees must have all been cleared up to make way for the never-did-berth-yachts.
This is hardly a suitable place for a yacht club... it's easy to see. The winds are kinda strong, the water muddy.... the siltation would keep it too shallow for a yacht club. So, how was this project allowed to proceed? No EIA reports? No rehabilitation? Taxpayers money, all gone down the sea, through the Kuala Kedah river mouth!
2 comments:
Random Shots, u did not talk about the smell, esp in the late afternoon.....eek.... This is one of the many white elephants created by irresponsible state gahment, n 4 all u know, the contractors have laughed their way 2 the banks. No feasibility study, no ecology study no this and no that. Saved cost. Charged more. Take a drive n visit another white elephant, our Olympic sized swimming pool at Gunung Keriang. It is cracking up !
Wah lau... I didn't know it cost that much to construct. And to repair! $7m for a zinc roof! Some more they won't let people in. Built with rakyat's money but rakyat cannot go in. How about that! Some more now they have reclaimed part of the coast to build a road, so mud flats also no more already.
My friend calls MM the Elephant Man because he built so many white elephants. Like the padi museum. $11m to paint a picture! Laughing all the way to the Cayman Islands.
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