Dear Kuantan Town Council,
After a week of discussions with children in Kuantan ranging from 7-16 years of age, and presentations from adults in my English classes, I have prepared the following suggestions to help our town of Kuantan make some much-needed improvements. I hope you will take some time to consider the following points.
I realise that not all of these points may fall under your jurisdiction, but I'll include them anyway as an insight into what young citizens of Kuantan are thinking, and how adults living here explain changes they would like to see implemented.
One of the main issues is the change in direction of a number of roads around Kuantan town centre. While many people are now adapting to it, there appears to be a desire for the roads to be returned to usual. There was also a suggestion of expanding some of the main roads to four lanes.
Remaining on the same topic of infrastructure, the majority of my students would like to see the roads in Kuantan re-laid with stronger materials. This is due to numerous pot-holes on various roads, making it difficult to drive.
We are very pleased with the inception of enhanced public transport in the rapidKuantan fleet of buses. However, it would be nice in the future to see these public transport lines expand to residential areas, making it easier for people to locate a bus stop. Perhaps in the future there may also be sufficient funds and plans to create a LRT line similar to that in Kuala Lumpur.
The next point concerns littering. An overwhelming majority of the 100 or so students I teach expressed concerns about rubbish disposal in Kuantan. It would be a welcome addition to enforce punishments on those caught throwing rubbish, and to provide a lot more rubbish bins in all areas to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up on the floor and in drains. We frequently witness the open-air burning of rubbish in Kuantan which we would also like to be halted.
During our discussions, some people brought up the desire to have more trees being planted in Kuantan and were wondering why we see a number of trees being cut down quite regularly. While Kuantan grows and more buildings spring up, we believe there should be an equal opportunity for trees to be planted.
Building more shopping malls featured prominently in our discussions in English class. This was voiced particularly by the younger people who feel that Kuantan is a little boring without a great deal of places to go during holidays and free time. Fun places for children to go like Kidzania or Kizsports were very popular suggestions. One participant who lives in Indera Mahkota also wanted to see more coffee shops opened in this area in hopes that Indera Mahkota can steadily grow and expand like the main Kuantan town area.
To improve children's education and interest in study, it was offered by people young and old that there really should be more public libraries in Kuantan. The ability to loan good books from a library is very low here and this would be a much welcomed addition. In order to obtain more information and history about our home town, we would also like to see an improved information centre which would be a benefit to locals and tourists alike.
Teluk Chempedak beach is one of the most popular places in Kuantan but we fear that it has lost some of its beauty and charm with the addition of so many new shops and stalls along the beach front. These stalls obstruct the view of the beach and sea and diminish the experience somewhat. We wonder if these sort of stalls could be cut down so that visitors can simply enjoy the view of the beach without having things being sold at every step.
Regarding public safety issues, voice was raised in favour of more dynamic lighting along roads and residential areas thereby decreasing the risk of accident and theft. Installation of CCTV cameras in strategic areas could also be something to be considered.
Some of my students would like to see the Kuantan Town Council organise special seasonal festivals. Such festivals could bring the people of Kuantan together, help us learn and appreciate each other's religion and culture, and provide much enjoyment.
Finally, as Kuantan is growing steadily and becoming a more prominent place on the map of Malaysia, we see it fitting to have a certain landmark to distinguish our town and to be symbolic of Kuantan. A Kuantan Tower similar to those in KL and Alor Setar would create a new tourist attraction and be a symbol of pride for the people of Kuantan.
I hope you have found some of our suggestions to be worthwhile. We have certainly had an inspired time thinking about and discussing these possible improvements to the beautiful town of Kuantan. We await your response.
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Duncan D. Horne
Chief English Trainer at Horne Learning Services,
comprising contributions from all the students of Horne Learning Services.
