What used to be a famous tin mining location in Perak is now an attraction for tourists from within and outside the country.
Located in Batu Gajah, Tanjung Tualang was once a mining location with a dredge known as the Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5 (TT5) built in 1938.
However, after the mining area was abandoned due to the absence of mining activities, the initiative to turn it into a tourist attraction was implemented by the state government agency, Menteri Besar Incorporated (MB Inc).
Chief Executive Officer of MB Inc, Anuar Zainal Abidin said that in order to add value to tourism assets in TT5, a new attraction was completed last year, namely the Maze Garden Tanjung Tualang (MGTT).
“The inspiration to build the Maze Garden came during a visit to Jeju Island, South Korea in 2019.
He said the idea to build the attraction was finally implemented in 2020 and it had opened its door to visitors before the pandemic that year.
“Unfortunately, it could not be launched directly, so we took the approach of making a ‘soft launch’,” he stated.
He added that during the opening of MGTT last year, the response was very encouraging because it is the first Maze Garden built in Malaysia.
Maze Garden or “Taman Sesat”, is an area of 2,972.89 square meters in the shape of a heart, built on a piece of land measuring 1 acre (0.4047 hectares) and cost about RM35 million.
The cost, Anuar Zainal said, included the construction of a Halal Seafood Restaurant.
He added that due to the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), several reforms will be implemented when it resumes operations.
“This includes the SOPs for visits, which previously allowed 20 trips a day, but now only eight trips. Each visit will also be accompanied by a tourist guide.”
In addition, 30 participants were previously allowed to participate in one group, but now the number is limited to only 10 people per group.
These SOPs, he said, must be complied with so that all visitors are safe and comfortable.
He added that the admission fee to MGTT remains the same at RM5.00 per person.
Rosli Mansor
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