By Norrasyidah Arshad
SHAH ALAM, Dec 9 — With less than two days remaining before it ends, the Selangor International Book Fair (SIBF) 2023, organised by the Selangor Public Library Corporation (PPAS), is expected to meet its target to draw in 300,000 visitors.
Its director Zafrullah Aris said that since the event kicked off on December 1, the event has garnered a positive response, with over 200,000 attendees across a range of age groups as of yesterday (December 9).
“Alhamdulillah (thank God), we have received a positive response. People of various age groups and ethnicities, and even from neighbouring countries, have attended this fair, and the ‘Heart and Mind of Literary Figures’ (Hati dan Minda Sasterawan) segment has received a lot of attention.
“We expect to reach the target number of visitors over the event’s final two days, today and tomorrow. Since it’s the weekend, we may exceed the targeted figure,” he told Selangorkini when met.
Zafrullah said that students from primary and secondary schools participated in this year’s event following the collaboration with the Selangor State Education Department.
“The participation through several segments had benefited them significantly. Furthermore, some exhibitors took the initiative to attract visitors to their booths.
“Among the efforts include inviting various artists and celebrities, including popular local rock singer Ella, and novelists. This has led to a surge of fans visiting their booths,” he added.
SIBF was first organised last year in continuation of the Selangor Book Fair, which had been held since 2006 and recorded an accumulated five million visitors in the past 16 years.
The state-level book fair was previously hosted at the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam, which later moved to the MBSA Convention Centre, here.
