KUCHING: From its commencement on July 24, the 13th Asia Pacific Orchid Conference (Apoc 13) held at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here, has attracted nearly 10,000 visitors as of yesterday afternoon.
“We hope to garner 60,000 visitors by Sunday — the last day of APOC13 — which would equate to 10 percent of Kuching’s population,” announced Kuching North City Commission (DBKU) mayor Datuk Abang Abdul Wahap Abang Julai during his speech at the closing ceremony of the Apoc 13 lecture programme.
He applauded the enthusiasm and perseverance shown by the lecture programme participants.
“I am sure that you will all agree with me that these two days, we have gained immense knowledge, fruitful ideas and experience from the 57 speakers and 15 poster presenters,” he said, highlighting the comprehensive pool of orchid-related topics covered, which included conservation, research and development, cultivation, ecotourism and the floriculture industry.
Abdul Wahap encouraged the participants to also take part in the other activities of Apoc 13 such as visits to Gunung Gading National Park and the Sarawak Cultural Village, the Orchid Walk, and various competitions.
On another note, when met by reporters after the closing ceremony, he mentioned that the addition of flowers to beautify roundabouts and junctions would be started with three areas first as the testing grounds.
“We have one right here in front of BCCK decorated with orchids, we will maintain it. When the orchids have wilted, we will replace it with other flowers,” he said.
The other two sites are the roundabout in front of DBKU headquarters in Petra Jaya and one of the junctions near BCCK.
“We will see how long these will last,” Abdul Wahap said. He also stated that DBKU would continue the beautification process with roundabouts surrounding their headquarters first.
He expressed the intention of DBKU to spruce up Kuching but vandalism was a significant obstacle whereby flowers or shrubs that had been planted seemed to have “walked off” by their own accord.
“We want to educate locals to appreciate these plants first, then only can we do it successfully,” Abdul Wahap stated.
During the closing ceremony, Apoc president Dennis Kao announced that the next Apoc, that is Apoc 14, would be held in Singapore in 2022.
A symbolic handing-over was done between Abdul Wahap and Dr John Elliot, the first vice-president of the Orchid Society of Southeast Asia.
The following edition, Apoc 15, will be held in Taiwan in 2025.
