Malaysia's Perak Must Have Own Identity, Brand To Be Heritage Tourism Hub

IPOH (Perak, Malaysia), Sept 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Perak state had to forge ahead and create its own identity, positioning and brand to ensure it could be the hub for eco and heritage tourism in future, said Chief Minister Dr Zambry Abd Kadir. He said Perak was now working hand in hand with the stakeholders in environment preservation, heritage bodies which had pointed out the vast richness of resources the state had that were still underdeveloped and beaming with potential. "Our strategic location in between two most developed states in the nation, namely Selangor and Penang, makes this task achievable. "Perak is truly becoming an exciting place to be and I am confident you are keen to be our partners in future," he said when opening the Pangkor International Development Dialogue (Pangkor Dialogue) 2016, here, Monday. The three-day event will explore the challenges and what it takes to build a resilient society and the connections with an inclusive and sustainable future. Zambry said Perak was re-inventing the existing industries such as tourism by easing the business development process, and providing grants and opportunities for start-ups headed by youths. "If you have time to walk around Ipoh, you will be amazed with the beautiful, nostalgic architecture we have preserved, thanks to the booming cafes, eateries and boutique hotels run by these people," he said. The chief minister said Perak was changing the way it was doing things, taking into account its impact far into the future on the generation that would receive the baton, and the environment and prosperity of the nation. "We can no longer focus on the money spent but the value of returns on investment, the result we will achieve. We realised this would require us to look beyond our usual standard operating procedures and partners," he said. Zambry noted that when Perak aimed to become the next employment hub in the country, it took into account the types of jobs it wanted to offer such as best quality, income-generating, skilful and progressive. -- BERNAMA