July 15, 2009 21:51 PM

SINGAPORE, July 15 (Bernama) — The Ipoh-Singapore route serviced by local community airline Firefly Sdn Bhd can help boost tourism, investment and the economy in Perak.

State Health, Local Government, Consumer Affairs and Public Transportation Committee chairman Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said Firefly would operate daily flights for the route soon due to overwhelming response from the public since the service began last Sunday.

“We are happy with the response to the Ipoh-Singapore route served by Firefly. We understand that 85 per cent of the tickets have been booked for flights until November,” he told reporters after leading a delegation on a state government technical working visit to Singapore.

Also in the delegation were state Education, Higher Education, Science and Technology Committee chairman Mohamad Zahir Abdul Khalid and the Menteri Besar’s advisor on Indian community affairs Datuk S. Veerasingam.

Dr Mah said the flight tickets for the first two months since the service began were fully booked.

He said the service would bring in more tourists to Perak from Singapore as it would take them only one hour and 20 minutes to reach Ipoh compared to more than five hours by road.

Dr Mah said with the good response, the state government hoped that more airlines would operate at the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport for routes from Ipoh and also for cargo service.

“The state government is confident of drawing more tourists to the state than the three million recorded last year and more investment, especially from Singapore, with the new service by Firefly.

“The state government will also negotiate with other airlines to reintroduce flights to a number of destinations like Medan and Padang in Indonesia and Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand,” he said.

During their three-day visit which ended yesterday, the delegation attended briefings and had discussions and dialogues with the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority and Land Transport Authority, and met with Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, S.Iswaran.

“This has been a meaningful and productive visit as we learned from Singapore’s experience in developing the island republic, including the policies and plans,” Dr Mah said.

He said in the economic sector, 18 per cent (RM540 million) of the RM3 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) last year that went to Perak came from Singapore investors.

Investors could benefit from such economic sectors as the metal and shoe industries and products for the ICT industry, he said.

Malaysian High Commissioner to Singapore, Datuk Md Hussin Nayan, said the Ipoh-Singapore air route operated by Firefly should provide a good opportunity for Perak to diversify activities in the tourism and economic sectors.

“We are proud and happy that airlines like Firefly, MAS, AirAsia and Singapore Airlines are increasing flights from or to major towns in Malaysia. With this, we hope the relevant authorities would provide better facilities for tourists and investors coming to Malaysia,” he said.

Thursday, 16 July 2009

by Sylvia Looi

SINGAPORE: The Perak Government hopes to attract 20% of Singapore tourists to the state following the introduction of Firefly’s Ipoh-Singapore service.

Perak state executive councillor Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon said the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board’s records showed that 11.43 million Singaporeans visited Malaysia last year.

He said the four times weekly flights have been fully booked for the next two months while flights for November were 85% booked.

Urging Singapore investors to grab the opportunity to invest in the state following the introduction of the air service, Dr Mah said the time needed to travel between Ipoh and Singapore had now been shortened considerably.

“The Firefly flights augur well with the state’s plans to attract more investors,” he said after hosting a dinner here on Monday evening for invited guests.

Dr Mah had led a delegation of state dignitaries and newsmen to visit the island republic following the introduction of the air service.

Singaporeans contributed 18% of the RM3bil in investments received by the state.

Malaysia’s High Commissioner to Singapore Datuk Md Hussin Nayan, who was present, welcomed the service as it would provide an opportunity for Singaporeans and Ipoh folks to visit each other.

He also urged tourism players in Perak to provide better services to tourists.

During the delegation’s three-day visit, dialogues were held with the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Land Transport Authority, Preservation of Monuments Board and Singapore’s Trade and Industry Minister S. Iswaran.