Unesco reps to assess Royal Belum for possible heritage listing in October
IPOH, June 18 — The Perak government is upbeat about its Royal Belum State Park in Gerik being Malaysia’s new entry to the Unesco World Heritage Site list.
State Tourism, Arts and Culture Committee chairman Tan Kar Hing disclosed that representatives from the world body will be visiting the Perak forest in four months for an assessment.
“Representatives from Unesco will be coming in October to assess it,” he told Malay Mail in a recent interview.
He said the state submitted the dossier through the National Heritage Department for the listing to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in April.
“We are confident the state park would be listed,” he added.
Deputy Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Muhammad Bakhtiar Wan Chik was previously quoted as saying that besides Royal Belum, the other three sites on the tentative Unesco list are Taman Negara, the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge in Gombak and the Forest Research Institute Malaysia.
If Royal Belum makes the cut, it will be the second destination in Perak to enter the Unesco list.
The Lenggong Valley, where the 11,000-year-old skeleton of Perak man was discovered, is the first site to be recognised by Unesco.
Muhammad Bakhtiar had said declaring these places, which have a historical and heritage value, as Unesco World Heritage Sites would protect their biodiversity and uniqueness.
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