MAKING MALAYSIAN HERBS THE ECONOMY OF WEDNESDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- The organisers of the Third Herbal Asia
Business Dialogue (HAB) 2009 are calling on all industry players to attend the
event, scheduled for April 30 at the MATRADE Exhibition and Convention Centre
here.

The dialogue is held in conjunction with the Sixth Herbal Asia, a trade
exhibition showcasing the finest and latest in the herbal industry, to be held
at the same venue from April 30 to May 3.

Herbal Asia 2009 is jointly organized by Gitex Sdn Bhd together with the
Federal Agriculture Marketing Authority (FAMA) and Forest Research Institute
Malaysia (FRIM), in collaboration with MARA and Gagasan Badan Ekonomi Melayu
(GABEM).

Supporting agencies and bodies include the Ministry of Rural and Regional
Development, Ministry of Natural Resources & Environment, Ministry of Health,
Ministry of Tourism and several trade organizations.

According to a statement from the HAB 2009 Secretariat, the dialogue is open
to both large and small industry players, manufacturers, producers, academics,
entrepreneurs and investors.

It is also dedicated to professionals who are interested to network with
other industry players for potential partnerships, explore ideas to expand their
raw products, obtain professional advice on marketing existing facilities or
simply to create a successful business that promotes tourism to the country.

Conceptualised two years ago from the realisation that there was a lack of
skilled and qualified workers to support the herbal industry's demands, HAB now
wants to provide an open and interactive platform for the presentation and
discussion of current issues pertaining to the herbal tourism industry, the
statement said.

It was given the umbrella theme "Think Big, Indigenisation of Herbal
Innovation Growth - Hurdles and Enablers", which encouraged industry players to
look at the bigger picture by creating innovative ways to get involved in the
herbal industry, it said.

One of the main approaches was to incorporate cultural and traditional
knowledge with modern biotechnological methods and facilities. Blending age-old
traditional secrets with science that can then be marketed to the modern world.

HAB's focus this year will be on making "Malaysian Herbs, the Economy of
Tomorrow", through the promotion of herbal health tourism activities, in line
with Herbal Asia 2009's theme 'Herbal Tourism, the Growing Industry'.


The statement said that participants would be able to discuss the importance
and significance of herbal medicine in the Malaysian community and how it can
become a successful tourism product to be promoted to the international market.

They would explore ways to commercialise and brand these Malaysian herbs to
lend a unique Malaysian identity to it and participants would also discuss ways
to diversify their herbal based products and services to attract a larger
audience.

According to the statement, Tongkat Ali for example, has been diversified
and sold as sweets, chocolates, coffee and tea, convenient medicine capsules,
soaps, lotions and oil, and it could even be found in the form of chewing gum
in Japan.

Another topic that would be highlighted was the development of village SMEs
which explores various ways the communities in rural areas can become involved
in the herbal health industry.

The statement said the participants would learn how to go about utilizing
the country's natural resources and surrounding environment by looking into
developing areas such as natural springs, hill retreats and homestay programmes
in traditional villages to promote herbal tourism.


During the dialogue, participants would also learn more about incorporating
traditional medicine with modern facilities and find out the latest in modern
technology so that they would be able to make an educated choice on which
technology is most suited for their business.

Renowned experts in the field of health, agriculture, research and
biotechnology, education and higher learning would conduct the dialogue and
there would be an opportunity to interact with these speakers during Question
and Answer sessions.

According to the statement, confirmed speakers included Director-General of
Health Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, Director of Institute for Medical
Research Dr Shanaz Murad and Dr Gerry Bodeker, a consultant who has been working
closely with the Ministry of Health on the roles of traditional or complementary
medicine.

For participation details and more information on the dialogue, contact the
HAB 2009 Secretariat at 03-6280 3503 or 03-7805 2348/49, or by email at
event@mygitex.com

-- BERNAMA