Negri to have its own Central Park

SEREMBAN: Seremban will have its very own sprawling Central Park similar to the famous public parks which dot the landscapes in the world's top cities such as London, New York and Paris.

The 400ha park will form an integral part of the Malaysian Vision Valley (MVV), a 108,000ha multi-billion ringgit project, which will be carried out over the next 30 years.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the Central Park would be similar to the ones in the famous cities where people would be able to mingle, exercise and even carry out recreational activities.

“It will be a green lung where people can go for their walks or to just enjoy the outdoor environment,” he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting.

Mohamad said that despite having the Central Park, developers would still be required to reserve space for smaller parks in their projects. Citing an example, he said in a 40ha development, a 4ha space must be alloted for recreational parks and another 4ha to build amenities.

However, Mohamad refused to divulge where in the MVV the Central Park would be located. (The MVV will straddle the Seremban-Port Dickson-Nilai districts).

Mohamad said he would also brief Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak Tun Razak on the private sector-driven MVV on July 10.

“The MVV will be a massive development project which will among others have its own commuter and tram services, education and industrial and sports clusters.

“We are planning a city which will rival Kuala Lumpur and be a more attractive place to live and work in,” he said adding that mutlinational companies will also be encouraged to set up operations here as they would be able to build their R&D and campus facilities in the same place.

On a separate matter, Mohamad said the Negri Sembilan government was against the move by the Housing and Local Government Ministry to impose a RM1,000 fine on households that fail to separate their garbage from Sept 1.

He said the people were not prepared for this as the level of awareness on garbage separation and the benefits of recycling was found to be wanting.

“I am sure there are people who will be unhappy with us for opposing this. But we have no choice because we deal with the people every day and we know they are not prepared for this,” he said.

The mandatory practice of separating households garbage will be implemented in Johor, Malacca, Negri Sembilan, Pahang, Perlis, Kedah and the Federal Territory from Sept 1.

Notices will be issued and a maximum compound of RM1,000 will be imposed on those who flout the rule from next year.

Under the move, each household must separate their recyclable items in separate transparent plastic bags while regular wastes such as food and organic wastes can be placed into plastic bags.