Bollywood at Taman Negara

When they did the filming of Gunung Ledang at Gunung Irau, Cameron Highlands, several years ago, much of the mossy forest and trees at the filming sites were destroyed. Now, they are at it again. They never learn. What will be destroyed next?

The main purpose of National Park is for the protection of the flora and fauna. Look like they are now more interested in making money.

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July 11, 2009
Bollywood reality show in Taman Negara accused of animal abuse
Bernama

NEW DELHI: Highly publicised television realtiy shows here, where hunky actors oozing with machismo, mingle with wild animals may be fast becoming a fad.

However, such shows can hardly muscle their way into the psyche of Indian animal welfare activists.

A Mumbai-based animal rights group has alleged that animals, whether in the wild or domesticated, should be banned from these shows as they were often exposed to all sorts of abuses.

While Indian celebrities were busy shooting in the wild rainforest of Taman Negara in Malaysia for the up and coming show, 'Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachoo' (Take Me Out Of This Jungle), animal activists were crying foul back home.

"It is cruelty to use animals for such shows. Animals are never willing participants, they are always forced into this (shows). Whether it is India or Malaysia, these shows must be banned," Anuradha Sawhney, chief functionary at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (India chapter) said here today.

The Hindi version of the reality show is choreographed along ITV Global Entertainments 'I am a Celebrity...Get Me out of Here', where about 10 celebrities would try to survive the tough terrain of Taman Negara to win the King or Queen of the Jungle crown.

The shoot for the Sony Entertainment Television's reality show, which would be aired on Indian televisions from July 13, has started in Taman Negara and was expected to go on for another two months.

Producers of reality shows are becoming more adventurous.

Celebrities are often flown to exotic destinations for filming in jungles with wildlife.

At least, 300 Indian crew members would be involved in the Taman Negara filming.

Welcome To Mulu

More than 15 years ago, there was also about this same kind of project to recycle waste etc etc at Taman Negara, Kuala Tahan. Do you know what happen now? It was abandoned. (You can still see the remains of this project at Taman Negara Resort) So all this project is just hangat-hangat tahi ayam (hot-hot chicken shit). Just to spend money and publicity? There are no commitment to protect nature. This is ecotourism. Hell!

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NST Online
2008/08/06
Mulu visitors pile up a stinker
By : Desmond Davidson

KUCHING: Gunung Mulu national park, the crown jewel of Sarawak tourism, is developing a smelly problem.

The Unesco World Heritage site in northern Sarawak, renowned for its ancient limestone caves, is facing difficulty in disposing of solid waste left by human visitors, and this is causing concern.

The problem stems from the area's lack of a local council, which also means there are no waste collection and disposal services available.

This is compounded by the fact that the administrator of the park, the Sarawak Fores- try Corporation, and the operators of chalets and hotels in the area, are prohibited, by both environmental and national park laws, from disposing of their solid waste by burning, or creating a landfill or dump site.

"It's a serious problem. But we are looking for a solution," said Natural Resources and Environmental Board (NREB) assistant controller Peter Sawal yesterday.

The national park generates just under a tonne of solid waste a day, with the Royal Mulu Resort generating the bulk of it at 400kg.

Solid wastes were once shipped out by boat to Marudi, but as the shipping contractor charged between RM1,800 to RM2,800 a month, that disposal solution became too expensive.

The effort to save costs has led some to indiscriminately dump waste on open ground just behind the resort.

Sawal said a jointly-developed NREB and Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA) solution is currently undergoing trials at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Siburan, a school on the outskirts of the city along the Kuching-Serian Road.

A professor from Japan's Meisei University, Shuji Yoshizawa, is fine-tuning his new composting technique, which he successfully developed from recycling food wastes and non-revenue generating wastes like cardboard boxes and animal waste.

"If successful, this composting technique will be implemented at Mulu," Sawal said.

The trial was meant to be sited in Mulu, but logistical problems forced it to be held nearer here.

The school, which has a student population of over 2,000, of which 429 are boarders, was picked as the trial site because it generates the same amount of solid waste as the Royal Mulu Resort.

The trial and Yoshizawa's working paper are expected to be completed in two months.

Bullshit Ecotourism

In Bolehland the concept of ecotourism is building luxury walkway every few years.
This has been proven in our National Park at Kuala Tahan, Pahang.

They talked about building structures that blend with the environment - Bullshit!
They talked about sustainable ecotourism whereby natural environment will not be decimated - Bullshit!

This is the partial summarized definition of ecotourism:
Ideally, true ecotourism should satisfy several criteria including affordability and lack of waste in the form of luxury. The concept of ecotourism is widely misunderstood and, in practice, is often simply used as a marketing tool to promote tourism that is related to nature. Critics claim that ecotourism as practiced and abused often consists of placing a hotel in a splendid landscape, to the detriment of the ecosystem. According to them, ecotourism must above all sensitize people with the beauty and the fragility of nature. They condemn some operators as "green-washing" their operations — that is, using the label of "ecotourism" and "green-friendly", while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways. (http://www.answers.com/topic/ecotourism?cat=technology)


Before 2000, there was no luxury walkway to Bukit Teresek. We were very happy. We enjoyed the natural trail. We have no problem. We didn't ask for a walking platform.

Then they started to build wooden steps. They said the wood blend with the environment and so they were eco-friendly. But they didn't know that the wood used could be harvested from some illegal logging of virgin jungles. We have no say, so they built.

Within months, fallen big trees damaged part of the wooden steps. Then termites. Then wood decay. That was between 2002 and 2005.

Now, they rebuilt it with PLASTICS! Yes, they were plastics. I don't know about the initial understand of the concept of using wood (before) versus the use of plastics (now)! Have they forgotten their very own reason for using wood?

I have all the while do not agree about the use of wood as they have been proven unsustainable and a wastage of natural resources. But with plastics...this is hypocrisy!

BEFORE : 2004 - Trail to Bkt Teresek. The wooden steps showing signs of "fatigue".

BEFORE : 2004. The wooden platform - unnecessary elevated platform.

NOW 2007 - Wooden platform missing and replaced with plastic steps. No metal used. The silts made of concrete. The plastics beams resembled galvanised iron. How long can they last?

The plastic steps. Is there a neccessity to build a luxury walkway in this part of the trail?

The left is the natural trail and the right is the artificial trail.

And do you know that hikers prefer the natural trail than the luxury trail!

This luxury trail serves no purpose but a wastage of resources. A wastage of taxpayers' money. The destruction of natural environment. A mockery of the concept of ecotourism. But a bonus for someone's pocket! That's the beauty of Bolehland! Everything also CAN!