Only one of 13 hill resorts in Seremban tourist area received approval - exco

 

Only one of the 13 resorts operating in Pantai Hill, Seremban has obtained planning approval and subsequently certified by the Seremban City Council (MBS), the Negeri Sembilan state assembly was told today.

State Urban Wellbeing, Housing, Local Government and New Villages Committee chairperson Teo Kok Seong (above) said the resort which obtained the approval is the Dusun Resort, owned by Helen Marion Todd.

“The other 12 resort operators (yet to obtain planning approval) must comply with the conditions set and submit the plan to be approved and certified,” he said at an oral question-and-answer session at the state assembly sitting.

He said this in his reply to a question from Ng Chin Tsai (Harapan-Temiang) who wanted to know the names of resort operators in the Pantai Hill area and whether these operators met the conditions set by the local authority to operate.

Answering Ng's supplementary question on the area of each resort and their period of operation, Teo (Harapan-Bahau) said some resorts on Pantai Hill have been operating for more than 20 years without the permission of the state government and local authority.

“After the menteri besar's visit to the area, we decided to legalise these resorts to ensure that all those operating the hill resorts have a licence and we need to make sure those who stay there are also insured.

“What we need to emphasise is that on behalf of the state government and local authorities, we need to make sure that the structure of the building is really safe and that is a challenge for all of us but we try our best.

“The resort operators have given their cooperation. However, not all the land there is developed as a resort as some have been used for residential purposes,” he said.

He said the legalisation process was still ongoing and if the building structure was safe, the state government would allow them to operate as the area was one of the top tourist attractions in Negeri Sembilan.

- Bernama