By Aida Aziz
IPOH: The recently held ERAT@Kinta Riverwalk programme serves as a pilot project to revitalise the Kinta Riverwalk area and bring more community-driven activities into the heart of the city.
Perak Housing and Local Government Committee chairman Sandrea Ng said the pilot initiative would be carried out over a six-month period.
“This is not merely an event. It is a six-month pilot project to explore how we can revitalise public spaces.
“We want to bring more community activities, arts and cultural programmes into the city centre, while creating an environment that is friendlier, livelier and more connected to the people.
“Tonight marks the first edition. Following this, on the last weekend of every month for the next five months, we will introduce different themes and activities,” she said when officiating the programme.
The programme, organised through a collaboration between the Perak State Housing and Local Government EXCO Office, the Perak Street Artists Community Association and the Ipoh City Council (MBI), successfully brought together more than 40 vendors and attracted thousands of visitors.
“Some people see Ipoh merely as a stopover on the way to Penang or Cameron Highlands.
“Others say Ipoh is simply a retirement town. Interestingly, neither view is necessarily wrong because everyone sees Ipoh from a different perspective.
“We do not need to become a second Penang. We will never be a second Melaka. We want to be the first in Ipoh. To achieve that, we must ask ourselves one question: What kind of Ipoh do we dream of?” she added.
Ng expressed hope that more people would come to enjoy the public space and that more community groups would step forward with their own ideas and activities.
She said this would help demonstrate that Ipoh is not merely a place to stop for food or a holiday destination, but a vibrant, creative city full of possibilities.
