Malaysian Agriculture, Horticulture and Agro-tourism International (MAHA 2012) terlalu
besar. Nama pun MAHA ! seriously, terlalu besar.Too big for comfort. Was not expecting to
be comfortably driven through an air cond-ed hall but I had this botanical garden expectation.
Or at least sungai buloh nursery feel.
I was at the first MAHA event when they re-launched it some 10 years ago in Bukit Jalil. That
was big but all in one place. You get to walk to all places - big like education fair, pc fair and
all those indoor exhibition. But MAHA here in Serdang is huge.
Parking Queue
On a week day (tapi cuti sekolah la) at 935am, I was stuck in a jam 1 km before the entrance.
What's the problem? Nothing. RELA and police and volunteers were everywhere. Its just too
many cars and drivers was curious and first timers. Slow.
Buying Plants
Aku ingat nak beli pokok buah. Walking to the entrance realised that I might not be able to get
to buy anything. Maybe nangka or jambu dalam plastic. That's it. Because, I won't be able to
carry those stuff i will be buying to the car. Too far.
Price
At a glance, without any haggling, the plants sold at the entrance of the events were way
too expensive. What can be bought at RM10 at Sungai Buloh is RM18 to RM20. Limau purut
yang kecik tu pun RM10.
Children and Old People
Do not bring your kids and parents to MAHA. They won't be able to walk through the event.
Pakciks were struggling nak naik tractors and trams. Budak-budak berlengas. Nampak
kesian.
Jeans, Power Rangers and Jersi Harimau Malaya.
Stalls, especially those at the entrance sells stuff unrelated to MAHA. It's like walking through
a pasar malam. Should this area sells MAHA thingy, then I wouldn't have to be walking all the
way a few kilometres inside.
Tapi kena bagi pujian jugak pada organiser. Ramai volunteers or orang-orang MAHA yang
memakai baju hijau dok membantu explain mana nak pergi dan lain-lain.
I would suggest do what a lot of other events do. Separate the days for professionals and
orang awam. Orang macam aku tak mungkin pergi tengok nak beli tractor dan chain saw.
Atau benih rumput dari Netherland. Atau benih ikan main ribu-ribu.
Make the show for public a smaller place. That could be a family place. Besar-besar zoo tu
dah le.
MAHA is a good event. But too big.
