Guidelines to spur horse riding 

The Star, Sunday, 12 June 2011

By ANDREA FILMER and CHRISTINA CHIN
north@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: The Tourism Ministry has decided to draw up guidelines on horse riding activities following a mishap at the popular Batu Feringghi Beach here.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said the guidelines, expected to be completed within a month, were necessary in view of the negative impact on the activity.

“In the past, we didn't have them (the guidelines) as enforcement came under the state,” she said.
“But it has come to a stage where we have to now,” she told reporters after launching the 1Malaysia Parks and Gardens Carnival at the Penang Botanic Gardens yesterday.

On Tuesday, Arina Kirana Azrin, five, fractured her left collarbone and pelvic bone after she was trampled upon by a horse ridden by a man fleeing from enforcement officers.
This prompted Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to issue a warning that the state government was firm about banning horse riding along the beachfront.

However, Dr Ng described this as improper due to the leisure activity being a popular tourist attraction.
Yesterday, Dr Ng said it would be up to the state to decide whether to adopt the guidelines as the ministry could not make these mandatory.

“We will consult experts to come up with the guidelines. These will include having a designated zone for horse riding, licensing and registering the operators as well as training them.

“We should not stop horse riding just because we don't have a system in place,” she said.
Meanwhile, Lim said the state's ban on horse riding would remain unless the ministry came up with a solution agreeable to both hoteliers and tourists.

“We refuse to gamble with the lives of tourists and won't wait until someone dies before acting,” he said.
“Safety is our priority,'' he told reporters after opening the Plenitude Penang International Dragon Boat Festival at the Teluk Bahang Dam