Perak mulling switch to Zeon Zoysia pitch at end of this year

IPOH - The state government will finalise a decision on the conversion to a Zeon Zoysia pitch at Perak Stadium by the end of this year.

Ipoh Mayor Datuk Rumaizi Baharin said that for now, the discussion between the state government and the Ipoh City Council (MBI) is still ongoing and is aimed at an assessment of some specific matters.

"There is an opinion that says that the process of planting the grass until it reaches maturity may take six to eight months.

"So, if the league starts early next year, what worries us is where to find an appropriate venue to replace the Perak Stadium,” he said when met at a pothole repair demonstration using the latest technology of "Hot In Place” in Jalan Ghazali Jawi here today.

In June, the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) had offered allocations through matching grants to each state to upgrade stadium pitches with the cultivation of Zeon Zoysia grass.

For now, only Sarawak has agreed to use Zeon Zoysia grass while Terengganu, Federal Territories and Pahang opted for a different approach besides maintaining the use of existing cowgrass.

In addition, Rumaizi said that if the Perak state government agreed to the use of Zeon Zoysia grass, there would be no obstacles other than being able to provide special allocations for maintenance costs.

"In terms of (maintenance) capacity, we have no obstacles regarding cost even though it is known that it will involve a relatively high amount running into hundreds of thousands of ringgit,” he said. - BERNAMA