Proposed 24-hour border operating hours to boost Padang Besar's development

KANGAR: The proposed 24-hour operating hours at the border entry points will help boost the development of Padang Besar, which is gazetted as the Border Town of Commerce, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man.
In expressing support for the proposal, he said many matters needed to be considered by the government, among others, manpower and security aspect. "In terms of socio-economy, the extention of opening hours gives a big impact on the planning to turn Padang Besar as a well-known logistic hub," he told reporters on the sidelines of the State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.
Padang Besar is gazetted as the Border Town of Commerce under the Perlis State Structure Plan 2030.
Earlier when replying to a question from Datuk Ismail Kasim (BN-Tambung Tulang), Azlan said the physical facilities at the Padang Besar customs, immigration and quarantine complex needed to be upgraded first.
Last year 7,000 people per month visited Padang Besar from 4,000 monthly in 2015 when the double track railway via the electric train service (ETS) was completed.
Meanwhile Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Committee chairman Ahmad Bakri Ali said the state government could only control the price and quality of the harumanis mango to maintain its uniqueness as the icon of Perlis.
Even though the ceiling price is fixed at RM26 per kg, he said traders could still sell them at higher prices depending on the quality of the fruits.
He was replying to a question from Khaw Hock Kong (BN-Titi Tinggi) who wanted to know the measures taken by the Agriculture Department in taking care of the fruits.
The state government through the department had set the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the packaging of harumanis to meet the standards in terms of texture content, maturity and sweetness level, he added. — Bernama