Tourism Ministry drafting guidelines for beach sports

GEORGE TOWN: The Tourism Ministry is drafting guidelines on beach sports, including horse riding, which are expected to be submitted within a month to the DAP-led Penang government for consideration. The minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, said Saturday that experts' views were being sought in preparing the guidelines which follow an accident at Batu Feringghi beach where a five-year-old girl was knocked down by a horse.

The guidelines would include safety considerations and suggestions to ensure that local tourism products were not affected by a ban on any sport activity, she said. "We admit that the ministry has no power to intervene in the administration of any state government. After all, we do not have any land in Batu Feringghi. But we hope our effort can help develop tourism products," Dr Ng told reporters after launching the 1Malaysia Parks and Gardens Carnival at the Penang Botanical Gardens here.

In the accident on Tuesday, Azrina Kirana Azrin sustained a thigh injury and a fractured shoulder after being knocked down by a horse while playing with her 12-year-old sister at about 10am. Dr Ng said that the guidelines would include proposed requirements for horse and horse keeper. "I think a horse to be allowed on the beach should not be too big. It should not be the size of a race horse," she added.

She also rejected claims that the equipment that her ministry bought for the Penang Hill funicular train was not good and was a cause of damage to the train. Dr Ng said the train service had been disrupted because of the lack of experienced people to run it. She said the Garaventa AG Switzerland contractor had offered assistance to solve the problem of service disruption and would work with the Penang Hill Corporation. On June 7, the train was damaged and service had to be stopped for the third time in a month after it was resumed on April 25 on completion of a RM73-mil upgrade. 

- Bernama