The Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS), in collaboration with the Business Events Council Malaysia (BECM), have jointly launched their ‘BE-READY’ initiative.
Designed to showcase the industry’s safe execution of events such as meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE), in line with their Business Events (BE) Guidelines, which have been developed in accordance with the approved Malaysian National Security Council (MKN) Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
‘BE-READY’ was officiated by Dato' Dr. Noor Zari bin Hamat, Secretary General, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC) and Chairman of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) and was supported by MyCEB. The event brought to life exhibition stand mock-ups and various event setups to demonstrate practical examples of how business events in the new normal are being conducted in a controlled, organised, safe and structured manner, as part of an effort to rebuild public confidence in the meetings and events industry. By attending the launch, stakeholders and the media had a first-hand experience of event execution in the new normal.
The launch also included a briefing session for industry players and stakeholders on how to apply the BE Guidelines when planning and executing their events. The briefing covered employee and personal safety, physical distancing measures, increased health and safety measures, attendee management and control, as well as on-site communication encouraging adherence and the provision of guidance and compliance.
Chairman of BECM, Alan Pryor, shared, “We are pleased to resume business events with strict adherence to stringent health and hygiene measures and our prime importance is to provide a safe, controlled and regulated operating environment for our clients, stakeholders and event attendees. We would like to commend the solidarity and collaboration of the industry supply-chain to proactively drive engagement with Government to get our industry SOP approved and to demonstrate that business events, unlike mass gatherings, are executed in a safe, controlled, and regulated environment.”
According to MACEOS President, Dato’ Vincent Lim, “All of us must take note that it will be a new normal in organising and welcoming our visitors or delegates to our business events. Now that we have the BE industry guidelines and SOPs endorsed, we urge all members, professional conference organisers (PCOs), professional exhibitions organisers (PEO), convention centres, contractors service providers, and other stakeholders to strictly observe and comply to these SOPs.”
He continued, “These guidelines must be practiced; providing assurance and gaining public confidence that business events like exhibitions and conferences are safe; and that all industry players must play their role to collectively work and continue to take precautionary measures to ensure the safety and health of everyone as our foremost priority.”
Pryor concluded, “We welcome the additional steps that the Government has taken to support our sector. We continue to have open dialogue with the Government and are actively engaging with them on the value of our industry to the economy’s recovery. As a social and economic driver, Business Events deliver thousands of jobs, economic impact and grows Malaysia’s profile and market share globally. We are confident that with the Government’s support the Malaysian business events industry is well positioned to rebound strongly, and are thrilled to be hosting events again safely and securely.”
The ‘BE-READY’ launch was jointly organised by BECM and MACEOS, co-hosted by MyCEB and the Centre (venue host), with support by industry partners including C-BOSS, DOREMi, InQBay and Pico.
