The lakes of UMP – the attraction for speed boat remote control fans

The landscape of Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP) has a beautiful and tranquil panorama, attracting many visitors who enjoy basking in the serenity.

There are four lakes around the campus including one that is located opposite the library that covers an area of 44.26 acre. It has a 1,614 meter of jogging track and 1,524 meter of cycling track.

It also has become an attraction for a different kind of sports – speed boat remote control.

It was the location for the UMP RC Powerboat Fun Race 2018, held for the first time at UMP Pekan Water Recreational Centre on December 4, 2018. It was organised by UMP Sports and Recreational Centre.

The champion of the competition was Lim Hai Meng who won three categories - Tunnel/Catamaran Hull Local Modified Engine, Mono Hull Local Engine and Mono Hull Open Modified Engine.

The Tunnel/Catamaran Hull Open Import Engine was won by Nor Hisham Muhammad.

The Centre Director, Abd. Rahman Haji Safie said the competition provided the opportunity for members of the public to see the greenery and beauty of the campus landscape as well as to foster closer ties with the local community.

“In line with the call made by the university to make UMP Pekan Campus an edu-tourism centre, we organised this competition that attracted entries not only from Pahang but also from Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Kuala Terengganu,” he said.

He also said the university was now working together with Pahang Boat Race RC Club to set up a team from UMP with plans to enter more competitions, be it locally or abroad.

Abdul Rahman also said there were efforts to upgrade the facilities around the campus especially the basic amenities so more water sports events could be organised.

He hoped that with the proposed new and additional facilities, there would be more new talents in remote control games who would represent the state, locally or abroad.

He also said the university put great emphasis on environment maintenance and protection to ensure the lake and its vicinity was clean with no disturbance to its eco-system.

The lake is an ideal place for the public to carry out sports activities and promote a healthy lifestyle. Not far from the lake is the Rimbunan Cendekia where various types of trees are planted.