Offer airlines incentives to fly from Ipoh

The Perak Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCCI) hopes the state government will offer incentives to local and foreign airlines from Hong Kong, Southern China or Japan to fly to cities in Southeast Asia and Southern China from Ipoh. Its president Datuk Lim Kok Cheong said with the completion of the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport runway, it is crucial for the state government to countinue improving the efficiency of the airport management so as to offer competitive services. "It will be a great loss and waste to the state if we do not proceed ahead of others to capitalise on the air transport services, to tap the rich natural resources, cultural landscape and human capital in Perak," he said in a speech at PCCCI's Chinese New Year celebrations here today. He said extra effort must be focused on effective external publicity in order to make Ipoh airport vibrant with tourists, thus boosting the state's economy and creating more job and business opportunities. "If we want to secure tourists' confidence, it is also necessary for the state to provide adequate public transport services and beef up security at the airport and tourist spots so that they will reach their destinastions safely," he added. Lim also said the Perak Urban Transformation Centre, the third UTC after Pudu Sentral in Kuala Lumpur and Melaka, has established government departments and agencies that offer good counter services to the people. "This plan has provided simple and convenient servicesin terms of dealings with the government and private sectors. This is to be commended by all," he said. PCCCI also welcomes the effort by the state government, led by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, which has issued land titles in stages to those who have resided for generations in illegal squatter areas, he added. He said agriculture and aquaculture farmers have also received land titles or been granted leases for them to continue developing their respective activities, describing it as another piece of good news. Lim said PCCCI is also urging the government to design a set of detailed guidelines pertaining to public security so that the enforcement units, community organisations and schools could carry out anti-crime education programmes. This would help eliminate crimes and raise public awareness, making long-term crime prevention everyone's responsibility, he said. He also commended Zambry for agreeing to consider gazetting the streets surrounding the former site of Yau Tet Shin Bazaar as a cultural and tourist site when he officiated the ground-breaking ceremony of The Octagon recently. The redevelopment of the 21-storey Octagon, which will house serviced apartments and commercial lots on the former Yau Tet Shin Bazaar site, has been entrusted to PCCCI.