(From second left) Rahim, Azizul and Asman Shah (far right) with Malaysia Book of Records officials after receiving the certificate for the Most International Participants Flying Wau Simultaneously at Bukit Layang-Layang, Pasir Gudang. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
EXPERIENCE is the key to a successful Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival, says Malaysian Kite Flyers Council president Datuk A. Rahim Nin.
“We have been organising the festival for the past 24 years, but it was always led by Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG).
“The city council has more experience in handling international events but this year, it handed over that responsibility to the Kite Flyers Council.
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“We had limited manpower, so we found volunteers to help with the event,” he said.
Rahim was glad that response from both the participants and the public had been overwhelmingly positive.
“Initially, we only invited 25 countries for this 25th festival but we received a lot of requests from other countries so we increased the number of countries to 40.
“MBPG also wanted to test our capabilities in handling a large-scale event and so we organised the programme with the help of Pasir Gudang Tourism Association,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Pasir Gudang mayor Datuk Asman Shah Abd Rahman said he entrusted the kite festival to the council as he wanted to reduce the burden on MBPG personnel.
“Usually, when we organise a kite festival, all of our employees will be involved in the preparation at least four months before the event, which adds to their existing workload.
“As such, the city council set up Pasir Gudang Tourism Association to work on such events.
“We allocated RM1mil to the programme and limited staff involvement,” he said, adding that the city council wanted to focus on providing the best service to the public.
Asman Shah said the council would be working with Tourism Johor next to organise the Nusantara Music Festival from March 3 to 5 at Pasir Gudang Indoor Stadium.
“I prefer not to burden staff with extra work when there are experts and associations who can do the same job.
“Plus, I believe that if the programme is organised by non-governmental organisations, it will be able to attract more people,” he said, adding that MBPG was planning to hold at least three large-scale events annually with its RM3mil allocation.
Meanwhile, Tiram assemblyman Azizul Bachok hopes that MBPG and Malaysian Kite Flyers Council would consider organising the festival twice a year.
“The programme managed to attract more than 400,000 people in one week, not only local Johor folk but also those all the way from Perak and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Singaporeans.
“I heard that every homestay in Tiram is fully booked, which is a good sign and shows how this event can generate income not only for traders in Bukit Layang-Layang, but also those in surrounding areas,” he said.
Azizul also suggested that the association assist in providing eco-tours to international participants in Pasir Gudang to ensure that they see more of Johor.
Besides the kite performances by local and international participants, the programme also featured kite exhibitions and workshops.
