BY VINCENT TAN

Participants in the Colour Walk being smeared with food dye powder at one of the stations.

THE Tasik Aman park in Petaling Jaya’s Section 22 was abuzz from 7am onwards as the Petaling Jaya City Council organised its Program Mesra Rakyat MBPJ for the Kampung Tunku area.

Several residents bodies and NGOs from Section 20, 20A and 22 and the Sri Aman Apartment’s residents association took part in the festivities.

The event kicked off with the Colour Walk around Tasik Aman, with over 130 numbered participants taking part, according to city councillor Gandhimathi Suppiah who organised the event.

Walkers had to walk around the lake twice and were smeared with food-dye powder at stations on the second leg.

Bib number “100” turned out to be Section 14 resident Ho Pak Hin’s lucky number, as he emerged first in the colour walk.

“This is the first time I have seen a community event being organised on such a big scale. I hope the council and NGOs will consider holding more events here in the future,” said Ho, who runs around the lake almost every day.

There was laughter all around as a blindfolded participant tries to hit a suspended pot of water during one of the community games during the Mesra Rakyat programme at Tasik Aman.

Both the men’s and women’s community tug-of-war matches were spirited and very competitive, and age was no barrier to dragging one’s opponents through the rain-softened ground as participants clung to the rope in defeat.

For senior citizens L. Mary, 68, and Kamalavathy Ratnam, 64, the tug-of-war was just one of several fun events to take part in that Sunday.

Other competitions organised included a kolam-making pavilion and musical chairs.

At one station, participants were blindfolded, spun around and given three chances to hit a pot filled with water.

Present at the event were PJ Utara MP Tony Pua, Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San and MBPJ councillor Annamalai Sugumaran.

Deputy mayor Johari Annuar also represented the council in handing out the letters of appointment to the Residents Representation Council (MPP) in Gandhimathi’s Zone 19.

Kamalavathy (centre) shows age is no barrier to having fun, as bystanders cheered her and her fellow tug-of-war participants on during the match.

For Gandhimathi and Lau, the main issue was maintaining the park’s cleanliness, as the lake was an artificial construct which did not have natural aeration or flow.

“The main complaint we get is the algae growth in the lake, and although there are aerators to inject oxygen into the water, sometimes the power supply is disrupted,” said Gandhimathi.

Lau also praised the Friends of Taman Aman, led by Rukun Tetangga Section 22 chairman G. Rajendran, for their community work for the park and lake.