IPOH: Gua Matsoorat will be the first-ever controlled tourism in Malaysia for the purpose of preserving heritage of the cave structure.
Datuk Bandar Datuk Rumaizi @ Md Daud said during the full board meeting, that the council would allow a limited number of tourists into the cave, most likely four cavers at a time by April 1.
“Tourists need to apply for a permit and engage a guide for the cave expedition at Gua Matsoorat which is located at the Kinta Valley Geopark, here.
“The reasons for the tight regulation is to ensure whatever graffiti left behind by the pre-historic man and natural fossil found inside the cave will be preserved for history and heritage values.
“Besides Gua Matsoorat, another prehistoric Tambun Cave believes to exist some 3,000 years back, which features cave paintings of humans and animals, will also be preserved and identified as controlled tourism,” he said.
Earlier on, it was reported that Gua Matsoorat has been suspected of facing vandalism when fossil teeth were found damaged in the cave itself.
A video production crew had entered the cave for shooting. The damage to the teeth and partial jawbone were found damaged on March 18 at 12.30pm, which was reported by Perak Natural Heritage Geopark Tour Guides Association chairman Mohd Fadly Md Noor.
Rumaizi commented on the vandalism issue stating that currently the council is investigating on the matter whereby studies have to be made to see what methods is suitable to restore the damaged fossil.
“The matter is investigated by the Mineral & Geoscience Department of Ipoh which may take one month before the results are announced to us,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment