By Alang Bendahara
AS last-minute preparations are being made for the second round of the Selangor Aviation Show (SAS), Selangor Journal interviewed its organiser Invest Selangor (Invest Selangor) Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer Dato’ Hasan Azhari Idris on what we can expect from the event.
Hasan promised that SAS 2022 will be bigger and bolder compared to its inaugural inception last year.
“The theme for this year’s SAS is ‘The One and Only Business Aviation Show in the Region’. clearly highlighting the fact that there is no other dedicated business aviation show in the region, other than the SAS,” he told us.
Last year’s SAS 2021 saw the participation of 47 exhibitors from six countries, namely Brazil, Turkey, France, Switzerland, the United States and Malaysia. It also recorded a total of 4,987 visitors over the three-day event, close to achieving its 5,000-visitor target.
Buoyed by that success, Hasan said this year, they will aim for at least 3,000 more visitors.
As of August 12, Invest Selangor has secured the participation of 52 companies that make up 17 returning exhibitors and 35 new ones.
Some of the international exhibitors include Dassault Aviation (France), Embraer (Brazil), as well as Singaporean firms Precision Aviation Group and Asia Security Technologies.
Like no other
Even though some may argue about the need for the state to hold an aviation show when Malaysia already has the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) show while down south there is the Singapore Airshow, Hasan is confident that SAS can hold its own against the others.
“SAS is different as it focuses more on business aviation (BA) and general aviation (GA), from supply chain activities to manufacturing, MRO (maintenance, repair and operations), services, cargo and multipurpose usage. LIMA is more for the defence industry while the Singapore Airshow is more for the commercial segment.”
Hasan added that the idea for SAS came about as there was no dedicated event to connect the BA/GA community in Malaysia or the region.
“So we created SAS to serve that purpose. We are starting it small, as this event will be developed continuously to become a major one, and therefore support from the industry players is much needed,” he said.
Plus the fact that with more than 63 per cent of Malaysia’s aerospace economy located in Selangor, it made perfect sense for the state government to increase its hold on the sector.
Positive vibes
Hasan said SAS has achieved its aim to be the ideal networking event to bridge industry players and the relevant business community to explore growth possibilities.
“SAS has opened up a new channel of promotion and networking for the business aviation subsector. It created positive vibes for the overall industry that was hit hard.
“It also gave more focus on Subang as one of the aerospace and aviation growth areas in Malaysia. The players operating in Subang were very happy and supportive of the state government’s support and decision to promote Subang as the destination for business and general aviation activities,” he said.
SAS has also opened up many potential collaborations not just within the industry but also across sectors such as agriculture, logistics, surveillance, tourism, recreation and lifestyle.
“Through SAS, the other industries are able to meet business and general aviation players to look at how they can work collaboratively across the sectors.”
