Kelanang...oh kelanang

Received an sms from office yesterday. Instructed to do an article on Pantai Kelanang. Ah..Kelanang when was the last time I was there..2006? Yeah it was early 2006 if I am not mistaken.

So, here was me again riding my elegan from KL looking forward to be there, relieving the fond memories I had there before..the soft sand..serene landscaping and not to mention the tasty Mee goreng from one of the food outlet manage by a makcik there.

Pantai Kelanang was also the main venue for Joran, a competition organised by a local mainstream daily last year.

When I reached there about 4pm, I was shocked! This could not have been the same place I was before....there were tree stumps..bakau roots everywhere on the beach? What happened? Did a Tsunami just wrecked havoc on the particular area?



Surely, this is not the same Pantai Kelanang that used to frequent more than a year ago...Jagged root stump were everywhere that it would be suicidal if you were to walk on the beach bare footed.

I caught up with a guy who was strolling by near the edge of the beach and ask him about the condition of the beach. A local there by the name of Amir.

"Sad isn't it? Just a few days ago a seven year old boy had a big gash on his foot because of the potruding wood stumps. It could have been avoided...now nobody wants to go here anymore..even most of the stalls here already "gulung tikar".....", he said.

Amir, concluded that this could have been avoided if the authority had taken the necessary steps and making sure the landscaping contractor appointed did its work according to guidelines and specifications.

"The contractor should have remove the roots and stumps completely before pouring sands on the surface to create the "sandy beach surface" look. There are certain time in a year where there will be high tide phenomena....certainly it will washed away the sands and the stumps and roots beneath that was not removed will eventually protrude out," he added.

He has a point there..and I have my points too for being upset. First, the particular makcik who sell my favorite Mee Goreng is no longer here..secondly it is a beautification project by relevant groups built out of haste without doing their homework that now have become a sore point.

On the other hand, coming to think about it..They should have just leave the place as it is..the real Pantai Kelanang that I knew before the beautification project..sigh..

What a waste.....

I will post the photos later..