Bukit Merah Laketown Resort Loses RM1 Mln Due to Bird Flu
Bernama, 22 Mar 2006

IPOH, March 22 (Bernama) -- The Bukit Merah Laketown Resort lost RM1 million in one month, following the bird flu attack which scared away visitors to the resort.

Its General Manager Calvin Ho said although the resort had made considerable loss, it would abide with the government's action to ensure the safety of the people.

"What is important now is to ensure the safety of the visitors to the resort," he said when contacted Wednesday.

A   total   of   249   birds   at   the  resort

including a "talking parrot" worth RM50,000 had to be destroyed after the bird flu was detected there last week.

The bird park was temporarily closed until it can be confirmed as safe, he said. Ho said five birds were placed there for observation to determine whether the place was free of the H5N1 bird flu virus which caused the disease.

He said normally between 4,500 and 5,000 people visited the resort during school holidays but the number had dropped to 2,000.

On the statement by the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday that the government would not pay compensation for the birds destroyed at the park, Ho said the company did not mind not being paid as long as the safety of the visitors could be ensured.
 

Ho said the people need not be alarmed that the disease might be transmitted to them because the park management had been proactive including providing a doctor to ensure safety.-- BERNAMA