Getting back its gleam

Many attractions: A farmer in Sungai Durian new village, Kampar, showing tourists the harvesting of tiger prawns (udang galah). — foong pek yee/The Star

Once a mining town which lost its shine, Kampar, which means golden treasure in Chinese, is seeing better days ahead.

THE jobs vanished overnight. Thousands of workers and their families had nowhere to turn to.

It was Oct 24, 1985 - the day the world tin market crashed - and Kampar, Perak was among the worst hit.

But survival instincts soon kicked in. The people there turned abandoned mining ponds into fish and prawn farms.

Their perseverance put them in good stead years later.

They were ready to ride the economic boom in the 1990s which saw the mushrooming of seafood restaurants in Kampar’s Tanjung Tualang New Village.

Tanjung Tualang has since evolved into a seafood haven. Nowadays, its restaurants are filled to the brim during weekends and public holidays, drawing tourists locally and abroad.

Lee:Being IT-savvy and creative enable the young loals to promote tourism in a big way.

At 60, Datuk Lee Chee Leong, who grew up in Sungai Durian New Village in Kampar, has witnessed the ups and downs of his hometown which was once a booming tin mining town.

Fast track to the present, the Deputy Finance Minister says he, like everybody else, can feel the impact of a challenging economy.

“Yes, the cost of living has gone up,” says the accounting and finance graduate from United Kingdom.

“Some people told me they cannot feel the effects of the country’s economic growth although the figure has gone up “Lee, also Kampar MCA chairman, says in an interview at his service centre in Kampar.

Macro economic details and statistics aside, he says the effects may not have trickled down across the board.

Apart from that, he attributes the situation to some sectors, like the export sector, performing better than the rest.

But with stability in the country, Lee is confident that there are more and better business and job opportunities these days.

“We have to venture into areas with good potential to ride on the economic wave; tourism is one of them.”

As an elected representative in Kampar for five terms (a four-term state assemblyman 1990-2008) and Kampar MP, 2008-2013), Lee says Kampar has all it takes to go big in tourism, especially eco and agro tourism.

The success in Tanjung Tualang New Village which is officially named Tiger Prawn Town shows how tourism can transform a village.

Kampar town is also known for its good food, from the curry chicken bread, dim sum to traditional Chinese biscuits to draw in the tourists over the weekends and public holidays.

The economy in Kampar also got another big boost when Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) main campus in Kampar opened its doors in 2007.

Today, Utar’s enrolment together with that of Tunku Abdul Rahman University College in Kampar add up to more than 16,000.

Kampar, dubbed a university town, is another example of how education can spur the economy and transform a place within a few years.

With students coming from all over the country and also overseas, Kampar is certainly well known nowadays.

Lee says the time has come for Kampar to aim for another breakthrough – to be a serious player in eco and agro tourism.

He says the recent gazetting of 395ha in the Kinta Nature Park by the Perak State Park Corporation has paved the way for eco-tourism.

About 40km from Ipoh city centre and very near to Kampar, the entire nature park comprises 14 former tin mining ponds covering 950ha.

“It is a great place for bird watching with more than 100 species of birds there including migratory birds.”

Lee sees the operating of chalets and tours in and around Kampar as way of providing business and job opportunities for the locals, especially the young people.

“The locals, whether they are here (in Kampar) or from Kampar, should get hold of these economic opportunities.

“Being IT-savvy and creative also enable them, especially the young, to promote tourism in a big way.”

Nestled in abundance of natural greenery against a backdrop of hills with waterfalls and streams and dotted with scenic old mining ponds and a food haven – Kampar which means golden treasure in Chinese – is a blessed place.

History has shown how the people has survived the ups and downs and emerged stronger.

The time has finally come for Kampar folk to go all out to focus on the strengths of the place and show its excellence.