Melaka takes over zoo and aviary park

MELAKA: The Melaka Zoo and Safari in Ayer Keroh here has been closed for two weeks following the transfer of its management to the state government.

The state has also taken over the management of a nearby Melaka Bird Park, putting it under the care of the Hang Tuah Jaya Municipal Council (MPHTJ).

Both sites were closed since Sept 28 to facilitate internal audits and facelifts.

They will be reopened on Oct 11.

State Housing, Local Government and Environment committee chairman Tey Kok Kiew was at the zoo yesterday to observe the transfer.

Also present were state and MPHTJ officials, and also the private concessionaire.

In a press statement released by MPHTJ, both the menageries were taken over after the previous concessionaire, KKW Sdn Bhd, had violated the agreement signed on Dec 31, 2012, to facilitate the privatisation exercise.

However, Tey declined to elaborate whether the main reason for state government’s takeover was due to the negligence of the animals’ well-being.

He only disclosed the rationale was meant to safeguard the interest of both sites.

On Saturday, Tey told The Star that the 60-year agreement sealed with the concessionaire in 2012 had been nullified through an amicable bilateral discussion.

Meanwhile, MPHTJ’s president Mahani Masban said the two-week auditing exercise would cover the number of animals still alive and those that died since the privatisation six years ago.

The zoo has currently 554 animals compared to 600 in 2015.