Taman Tugu now under national public trust: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today announced that the government has approved for the "Taman Tugu" (National Monument Park) here to be placed under a national public trust called "Amanah Warisan Negara".
He said with the establishment of the public trust, the park would be owned by the people of the country, ensuring it remained well kept and green.
"Other green areas throughout the country will also be placed under Amanah Warisan Negara to maintain and protect these areas for our future generation.
"This is the government's commitment and promise as we continue to ensure the well-being of the people," he said in his speech at the "An evening with Prime Minister of Malaysia in Taman Tugu" event.
The event was part of the inaugural "Hari Hasanah" (Day of Good Results) event, in which Khazanah Nasional Berhad (Khazanah) together with Yayasan Hasanah, Khazanah Foundation, Khazanah Research Institute, Think City, its network of partners and staff contributed their time and effort to perform good deeds for the benefit of others.
Hari Hasanah is one of the initiatives under Khazanah's "Negaraku, Negara Kita" campaign held in conjunction with the National Day and Malaysia Day, which aims to promote and foster unity and patriotism among Malaysians.
The Prime Minister also announced an additional 10.12ha of land adjacent to the existing 26.7ha Taman Tugu project to be placed under the trust, bringing the total to 36.82ha.
"As such, the total area of Taman Tugu will be 91 acres (36.82ha). If Taman Tugu is combined with the Perdana Botanical Gardens next to it, the total area of the green park will be 331 acres (133.95ha).
"This is similar to famous cities such as London, New York and Tokyo which have green lungs in the heart of the city," he said.
The RM650-million Taman Tugu Project was launched by Najib on Sept 4 last year, with 75% of the cost to be borne by Khazanah, and the park will be built in stages until 2020.
The first phase of Khazanah's corporate social responsibility project in collaboration with several ministries and private companies is scheduled for completion in mid-2018.
The area behind the National Monument, currently a secondary forest, will be transformed into a city forest park, equipped with recreational and educational facilities for the benefit of the public.
In the meantime, the Prime Minister in his blog post on NajibRazak.com shared his views on "Hari Hasanah".
"I am confident and believe that the spirit of volunteerism sown during this Hari Hasanah, when done sincerely and without expectation, can foster unity, patriotism and spirituality among all Malaysians regardless of their background," he said.
Najib said the Hari Hasanah initiative was also in line with the TN50 plan based on unity, inclusiveness and involvement, taking into account the aspirations of Malaysians from all walks of life.
On Taman Tugu, Najib said once fully completed, the park would house various attractions including 1,000 species of flora and fauna, campsites, hiking trails and walking paths.
Meanwhile in another event of Hari Hasanah held in at the Seri Semarak People's Housing Programme (PPR) here, which was participated by about 7,000 people from the surrounding community, Najib officiated the Cruyff futsal courts of Seri Semarak and Air Panas.
Similar courts, under the collaboration between Yayasan Hasanah and Johan Cruyff Foundation, were previously launched at Kampung Melayu Majidee in Johor in 2012, followed by Brickfields here, in 2013.
The Prime Minister spent about half an hour mingling with the crowds at the event where programmes such as legal and family aid, make-up tutorial by Malaysia Airlines Berhad and various workshops catering for the young as well as older generations were held free of charge by relevant agencies and non-governmental organisations.
Yayasan Hasanah managing director Shahira Ahmed Bazari, when met by reporters, said the organiser planned to hold the celebration annually on the third Saturday in between the National Day and Malaysia Day celebrations. — Bernama