EXPO GETS OVERWHELMING RESPONSE
It achieves objective of bringing people closer to state govt, says MB
THE inaugural Ekspo Muafakat Kedah 2018, which ended yesterday, has met its objectives to educate, entertain and bring the government closer to the people.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said the eight-day exposition at Darul Aman Stadium exceeded its target of 400,000 visitors.
“The response was overwhelming. The first two days were slow, but with the help of strong media coverage and promotional efforts, the number of visitors spiked.
“In fact, on one of the days, we recorded 50,000 visitors,” he said on the sidelines of the expo here yesterday.
Bashah said 20 exhibition clusters also reached their target of channelling the right information to the masses.
Visitors could meet government agencies and department, including the housing cluster where visitors registered for housing projects implemented by the government.
He said the state government had collected feedback via the “Suara Hati Kedah” corner, where visitors shared their opinions and aspirations on the state’s future development by posting notes on a wall.
“This approach allows the state government to listen to the people’s aspirations for the state.”
Bashah said the Kedah government had plans to organise the expo at least biennially or triennially to share the state’s achievements.
He said the exposition could be held in other districts in Kedah.
Ekspo Muafakat Kedah main committee chairman Datuk Ku Abdul Rahman Ku Ismail said the exposition reflected the true meaning of muafakat (understanding), not only between government agencies, but also between the government and the people.
“The expo is a good platform for the public to understand what the state government is doing.
“Despite having only two months to prepare for the exposition, we are glad that the people appreciated the state government’s effort,” he said.
Ku Abdul Rahman, who is also the state Investment and Industrial Committee chairman, said credit should be given to Kedah civil servants, who sacrificed their time and effort in making the event a success.
He said the approaches applied in the expo had provided a winning formula to attract visitors to the event.
“The expo could act as a benchmark for future expositions that the state wishes to organise.
“If we continue the muafakat concept that we displayed throughout this exposition, there is no problem for us to achieve greater future success, and in turn, (modernise) Kedah to be on par with developed states in the country,” he said.