Pangkor Dialogue set to rouse ‘sleepy’ Ipoh in September

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pangkor Dialogue aims to return Perak to the glory of its tin mining heyday.

The three-day global conference on sustainable development, which has been held thrice, drew 1,500 participants last year and 450 participants in its first year.

Organiser Institut Perak Darul Ridzuan chief executive officer Dr Mazalan Kamis said the event, to be held from Sept 5 to 7, afforded Perak equal treatment as other major cities.

“Last year, we targeted 600 participants but we more than doubled that as there was so much interest generated.

“Many people attended the conference in Ipoh.

“This is something the state has not seen since its tin mining heyday,” he said.

Mazalan said five hotels in Ipoh were fully booked and another 15 hotels were booked at the rate of 80 per cent and higher.

He said the suggestion to use subcultures to push the “sleepy” economy of Ipoh was made at its previous conference.

As a result, the city’s hipster culture boomed, leading to Ipoh being named as one of the 10 best Asian destinations by Lonely Planet.

“The dialogue helps boost tourism as international participants and visitors use the train to reach the city,” he said, adding that he hoped to brand Perak as the “Davos of the East”.

Mazalan was referring to the annual World Economic Forum, which has brought billions in investments to the small Swiss town of Davos.

He said the expansion of all sectors, including small businesses, was the aim of the platform, and there was no use hosting a conference on sustainable and inclusive growth that benefited only a small percentage of the population.

Bangladeshi Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay are expected to speak at the event. Dr Mazalan Kamis