PUTRAJAYA: The Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is gazetting the Gombak Selangor Quartz Ridge (PKGS) as a national heritage site under the National Heritage Act 2005 (Act 645).
This involves 210 plots of land.
Minister Datuk Mohamaddin Ketapi, said the ministry had also submitted documents on the PKGS to the tentative list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) heritage list, for it to be recognised as a world heritage site.
He said the PKGS included the Hulu Gombak Tambahan 1 Forest Reserve (Bukit Batu Tabur) which had already been gazetted as a Permanent Forest Reserve under Section 10 of the National Forestry Act 1985 (Adoption) as a state park.
“The PKGS is a natural geological heritage site and the world’s longest quartz ridge heritage site, spanning 14km.
“It is made of rocks that are million years old, and has extraordinary scientific and natural landscape value,” he said.
Mohamaddin lauded the decision by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to safeguard the environment by diverting the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) route to maintain the geological and natural heritage of PKGS.
He said he hoped that the state, local authorities and non-governmental organisations would work together to preserve and protect the area to make it a national icon and important tourist destination.
“With the gazetting, Malaysia will have more to be proud of in its diverse products that comprise not only tourism-related elements such as beaches and islands, but also world heritage sites,” he added.