Visit Malaysia Year 2026 is just about two months away and numerous tourist attractions are being identified and spruced up to welcome tourists.

All states are gearing up to showcase their unique attractions as tourism is a big revenue earner and helps various business.

Selangor has many tourist attractions and more publicity should be given to attract visitors.

Sungai Buloh has for decades been well known for its attractive and inspiring horticulture with a large number of nurseries and landscaping businesses based there.

The humble homegrown horticultural industry, which was started in the 1960s, has flourished due to the entrepreneurial and creative craftsmanship of the nurserymen.

Many of the ornamental plants, flowers and handicraft in the nurseries are sure to impress the tourists as are the countless bonsai and topiary creations. Quite a lot of these are exported.

Sungai Buloh’s horticulture needs to be promoted and publicized more as part of the VMY2026, both at the national and state levels by adding horticultural sites, attractions and activities in brochures, billboards, banners and buntings. 

The Selangor Exco for Tourism, Datuk Ng Suee Lim, needs to give more emphasis and exposure to the nurserymen and get their support and involvement in tourism related activities for next year’s events.

The MP for Sungai Buloh R. Ramanan and the state reps, Datuk Ab Halim Tamuri and Izuan Ahmad Kassim, could also initiate a dialogue session with nursery operators to get to know how they can help contribute and promote horticulture as part of the VMY2026.

Promotion materials such as banners, brochures and caps can be provided to ensure their commitment and support.

A large billboard could be erected in a strategic part of Sungai Buloh to highlight the horticultural tourist attractions and VMY2026.

Many tourists like to take photos of themselves alongside topiary creations, flowers and others. Nursery owners need to support these activities as it promotes their nurseries and brings in business.

Parking facilities for tourist vans and buses should be prepared. The nurseries should be spruced up as part of the efforts to draw tourists.

Nursery operators can be encouraged to play an important role by being friendly, courteous and respectful to tourists.

In numerous countries. horticultural parks and hubs are major tourist crowd-pullers due to the wide variety of colorful and vibrant plants, flowers and trees, as well as impressing tourists with the beauty of native plants and flowers.

Malaysia due to its equatorial climate showcases a multitude of plants and trees unique to the country.

Sungai Buloh’s horticulture can be a major attraction just like many of the nation’s tourist landmarks. The beauty of the country’s nature can be seen in its horticulture. 

It is hoped that the Selangor government, which has for long ignored the rich potential of Sungai Buloh horticultural industry, will assist and contribute in the preparations to enable the nurseries to play an important role in attracting tourists and increasing the revenue from on-site and online tourism.

Like some other sectors of the economy, the horticultural and landscaping business has lately been on the downtrend, and a VMY2026 promotion could give a timely boost to the industry.

It is also time for the state to look into the urgent needs of some sections of the Sungai Buloh nurseries that face an uncertain future as they face the prospect of re-location but have no viable alternative site to keep the industry going forward.

PKPS needs to identify a proper commercially viable hub near Sungai Buloh to relocate all the nurseries to ensure their growth and sustainability.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari’s assistance in settling this pressing matter is very much anticipated.

Sungai Buloh’s horticultural industry, if properly nurtured, could become a vital colorful and creative component of Selangor’s thriving diverse economy.

(V. Thomas has been regularly contributing to Malaysian newspapers for the last 40 years.)