ROY MASON¹

Kubah National Park is located on the Sarawak State Land which is about 24 Km from Kuching city. To reach the Park Headquarters, one can take a commercial bus or a taxi. At the park near the summit of Gunung Serapi, which is 787.8m high, is a small viewing platform constructed using belian timber. The state government propose to construct a larger observation tower at this site at a cost of RM 1 million.

The existing platform is three stories high with a total height of 6.16m. The actual top level viewing platform measures 1.28m x 1.8m and is designed to accommodate only six adults. The platform was constructed in 1996 by park labourers. The design was drafted by the Officer-in-Charge of Kubah National Park and approved by the National Parks and Wildlife Officer, Kuching.

Visitors can reach the platform by walking for three hours along a concrete road. Visitors can also drive up to the site with approval from NPWD in Kuching. From the platform visitors can see good views of Kuching city, Gunung Santubong, the coastline of west Sarawak, and Pueh mountain.

The objectives of this research were to find out if visitors were aware of the existence of the viewing platform, how many are using it, and whether the platform provides a good experience for visitors.

Questionnaires were designed and were used for interviewing visitors as they left the park. The interviews were conducted during weekends and public. This is to identify the number of visitors climbing to the summit. The respondents interviewed were categorised as children (12-17 years), adults (18-45 years), senior (46 to above) and male or female. Local and foreign visitors were included provided they spoke English.

A total of 57 respondents were interviewed during the three month period from April to June 2001. From the 57 respondents 47 were male and 10 females. There were four foreigners from the 57 respondents.

Thirty-five or 61% respondents had climbed to the summit. Those that climbed the summit were asked the main reason for going up to the summit. Their reasons were for physical fitness (20 respondents), looking at the surrounding views (26), observing wildlife (3) and socialising (6).

Of the 35 that climbed to the summit, 26 said that this was their first climb and nine respondents said that they had climbed several times. Only 31 people climbed onto the platform. The reasons for not going onto the platform were: did know about the platform (one person), too tired to go up (one person), and the platform was too crowded (two people).

The respondents had different opinions about the standard of the platform. Nineteen said it was good, six said it was bad and 10 said it was neither good or bad: more than half liked the platform. They expressed concern over safety and maintenance, in particular the strength of railings and rotten planks. The respondents suggested improvements to the platform, as shown in Table 1, and also other facilities they thought should be put up at the summit, as shown in Table 2.

The response for the questionnaire was fairly good as there is 57 respondent responded to the interview. There were more men responded to this survey. The most number of respondents that went up to the summit were between the age of 18 to 45 years old. This group of people were more energetic and very interested looking for beautiful scenery besides going for physical fitness by walking to the summit.

With the presence of the viewing platform, visitors were very keen to walk up to the summit to enjoy the view while resting after the long walk.

Most visitors or 54% said the platform was good. The viewpoint was constructed to enable the visitors to enjoy the surrounding views. The top storey of the platform could accommodate only six adults at one time, which is insufficient for a big group.

The platform is important at this summit point because it provides better views. Visitors expressed concern over safety and maintenance that the management should look into.

The platform that was designed for six adults was sometimes found to be too crowded. A sign should be placed at the bottom of the viewpoint to warn visitors of the limit and some safety rules for the visitors to observe when climbing the platform. It would be good if the viewing platform could be extended so that more people could share the experience.

It could be useful to find out what other attractions would interest visitors going up the summit.