HORSE RIDING BACK ON BEACH IN BATU FERINGGHI

ILLEGAL horse riding activities are being carried out on Batu Ferringhi beach when  Muslim enforcement personnel are breaking their fast, said Penang state  executive member Chow Kon Yeow. “It is difficult for the Penang Municipal Council to monitor the activities when its  enforcement personnel are not around to patrol the stretch,” he said. Chow, who is state Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman,  said the ban on commercial horseback riding had been enforced on the beach since early this year.  He was commenting on a complaint by a hotel spokesman on illegal horse riding on the beach. The spokesman said beach-goers were also unhappy with beach operators who invaded the privacy of hotel guests. “The operators even place dogs along the beach path to protect their ‘territory’. “The operators’ actions have inconvenienced hotel guests strolling along the beach in the morning and at night. “Our guests have also complained about the noise and air pollution due to motorised  land vehicles belonging to the operators,” the spokesman said in a statement. He said inexperienced water scooter riders were also encroaching into swimming areas and putting the beach-goers’ lives at risk. “It is best to have a proper demarcation zone for water sports activities. It should only be allowed 200 metres from the shoreline,” he added. Chow said the council would continue its effort to patrol the beach to ensure there were minimal disturbances to beach-goers.