PADANG BESAR, The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) in collaboration with private company Dreachwork is organising a three-day Hidden Fest 1.0 programme, which began yesterday, and is aimed at giving awareness to the local community about the importance of nature, especially teak plantations.
Its director-general, Dr Ismail Parlan said the programme taking place at the Perlis FRIM Research Station (SPF) here could also continue to introduce and promote the research station as one of the educational ecotourism locations in the state.
“I was informed that there are archery, flying fox, batik weaving, horse riding, camping, RC (radio-control) crawlers, ATV (all-terrain vehicles) riding activities and many others all held under the beautiful teak trees,” he said when speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme, which was launched by Padang Besar member of parliament (MP) Rushdan Rusmi at the SPF here today.
“I understand that tomorrow (Sunday) at 5pm, there will be a Teh Tarik Talk session at
Dataran Jati which will be conducted by the Rushdan Rusmi to discuss the topic “Padang Besar: A Fresh Challenge.
“It is an interesting platform to discuss with the youth and the local youth,” he said.
Meanwhile, in conjunction with the programme, Ismail in his speech also announced that the SPF will also be known by its commercial name of Teak Eco Park which is a more user friendly name and provides understanding.
“Teak Eco Park will not only function as a tourism and nature conservation destination, but also as an education and research centre that enriches visitors’ experiences and contributes to environmental sustainability.
“I am pleased to invite schools, universities and educational institutions to come and collaborate with our FRIM scientists in the field of teak breeding,” he said.
Ismail also said that in addition, the position of Teak Eco Park is strategic because it is close to locations that are the focus of tourists such as Gua Kelam, Wang Kelian, Taman Negeri and Padang Besar.
He added tha
t the station was also listed in the Perlis State Tourism Map in conjunction with Visit Perlis Year 2024-2025, and Dreachwork, together with FRIM, is very pleased to contribute towards achieving the target of tourists to Perlis where the state government aims to attract 3.5 million tourists.
At the opening ceremony, there was also an exchange of a letter of intent (LoI) between FRIM, represented by Ismail, and the owner of the Smart Teak Craft company, Fandi Ahmad, representing the company, which was witnessed by the Padang Besar MP.
According to a FRIM media statement in conjunction with the opening ceremony today, the exchange of LoI involves the development of the teak craft industry in Perlis.
The statement mentioned that the collaboration aims to produce teak craft products from waste materials through technology developed by FRIM, thus providing economic opportunities to local communities and promoting local products in a wider market.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
