Mayday, mayday: Sungai Rambai rep says airfield runway now overrun by grazing cattle

Locals say cows can be seen grazing at the Sungai Rambai airfield in the evenings.

MELAKA: A lawmaker has sent a distress call over cows on the runway of an airfield here to the Melaka Government.

Sungai Rambai assemblyman Datuk Hasan Rahman said the airfield in Sungai Rambai, meant for microlight aircraft and drone enthusiasts, has become a grazing ground for cattle.

He said aircraft could no longer take-off or land at the Sungai Rambai Aerodrome.

"It is a sad state of affair as the aerodrome supported the functions of Melaka International Airport at Batu Berendam as part of contingency planning," he said Thursday (May 28).

Hassan said the airfield has also been certified by the Civil Aviation Department (DCA).

The aerodrome was opened in the early 2000s and can accommodate light aircraft such as the Cessna 172.

Hassan said he wants the state government to revive the aerodrome.

"The aerodrome had previously hosted several international air carnivals, the latest in 2015," he said.

Hassan also revealed that there were other public infrastructure in the constituency that had been shut down and could be revived.

He said the Rural Transformation Center (RTC) here was among such premises.

"The RTC had representatives of 30 government agencies serving the Sungai Rambai area and was built at a cost of RM2.6mil.

"We don't want to see the RTC complex becoming a white elephant," he said.

Hassan said Sungai Rambai residents now had to drive to either Melaka city or Jasin to transact with government agencies as well as banks in the absence of the RTC.

He added that a project to build a new RM27mil Sungai Rambai police station had also been shelved.