KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 — South-east Asia’s leading biennial agricultural event — Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism (MAHA2020) — will be organised in a different way this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Parliament was told today.
Agriculture and Food Industries Minister Datuk Seri Ronald Kiandee told the Dewan Rakyat that this year’s MAHA will see a far smaller number of attendees and the event will also be held in a “hybrid” manner.
“This year’s MAHA organisation must take into account the Covid-19 pandemic that has swept the globe. So, we will organise it as a hybrid — where it will be conducted virtually as well as physically.
“We will also shorten the exhibition’s period from 11 days to four days — from November 26 to November 29. Previously, we never limited the number of visitors to the exhibition.
“This year, only those invited can visit the exhibition and members of the public are not allowed in,” said Kiandee.
Furthermore, he said that the number of visitors will be capped at 10,000 a day, which is only 1.3 per cent of the total number that thronged previous MAHA exhibitions.
However, the minister expects another 100,000 participants to view the event online on a daily basis.
