PETALING JAYA: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry maintains that it has given due attention to the development and maintenance of the Archaeological Valley of Lenggong in Perak since it was declared a Unesco World Heritage site in 2012.
It said part of the work done was to prepare a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) and Special Area Plan (SAP) that cost a total of RM1.2mil (or RM1,199,714, to be exact).
Out of that, RM650,000 was spent on land surveying for the 1,814ha site.
In a statement on Friday (Dec 20), it said the CMP and SAP were crucial before any development is carried out at the site so the outstanding Universal Value of the site was properly planned and not destroyed.
Apart from that, a total of RM160,000 was used to put up a safety gate at Gua Kajang, Gua Teluk Kelawar, Gua Harimau and Gua Gunung Runtuh to prevent vandalism.
Under the 10th Malaysia Plan, a total of RM130,000 was allocated for upgrade work that includes repairs for the boardwalk, signpost shelters as well as cleaning services at all the Lenggong sites.
Under 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), a total of RM17,495,150 was allocated, which includes land acquisition (RM12.4mil), upgrading of Lenggong Archaeological Gallery Phase 1 (RM5mil) and other maintenance work (RM100,000).
The upgrading of Lenggong Archaeological Gallery Phase 1 is completed and this includes building a special gallery for Perak Man.
A total of RM19,634,000 has been allocated for upgrading and maintenance work, and development of the Unesco site.
Through Rolling Plan 4 in the 11MP, a total of RM5mil has been approved for upgrading work of the gallery under Phase 2, and RM3.3mil to strengthen the structure of the Kota Tampan site for early 2020.
The Ministry added that the National Heritage Department (NHD) had also taken the initiative to carry out maintenance work of the various caves even though it was not under its jurisdiction, but no allocation has been forthcoming from the work done beyond its jurisdiction.
The NHD has requested funds from the Economic Planning Unit, but this was rejected due to jurisdiction problems.
Therefore, the Ministry said, the responsibility and maintenance of the historical sites in Lenggong Valley should be under the care of the Perak government as per Section 42(1) of the National Heritage Act 2005.
The Ministry also said it hoped that the state government would take proactive measures to develop the sites, especially those under its jurisdiction.
Since Lenggong Valley was declared a Unesco site in 2012, the role of the Unesco office in Lenggong Valley comes under the NHD as the state government was not ready to take on the role due to lack of experience.
The Ministry said it was in discussion with the state government to hand over the role and management of the sites in January 2021.
It added that it hoped the management and maintenance of the site would improve in collaboration with NHD.
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