‘Ngepan’ association receives RM3,000 grant
MIRI: Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau showed his support towards Raban Ngepan Iban Association (RNI) by giving them a RM3,000 allocation to carry out their activities.
RNI president Steven Abas Patrick Agus said the allocation will be fully used to partly fund the association’s Ngepan Gala Night 2017 which will be held at Meritz Hotel on April 8.
Dennis praised the efforts of the association which was set up with the objective to uphold Iban culture and tradition, especially traditional attires or ‘ ngepan’ of the Iban community.
He was also amazed with the commitment displayed by the members who are mostly youth, as they made great efforts in preserving Iban arts and culture to prevent it from fading away.
Meanwhile, Steven said he wanted RNI to become an example for members of the younger generation who want to preserve their heritage and culture of their ancestors.
Touching on the Ngepan Gala Night which has a ‘ Pua Kumbu’ theme, he said various programmes have been planned for the evening, including cultural performances, a lucky draw as well as presentation of awards to those who have contributed towards preserving ‘ngepan’ Iban.
“The highlight of the dinner will be the RNI state- level Kumang and Keling Competition which offers cash prizes totalling RM19,000. The evening will witness 12 Kumang and 10 Keling finalists vying for the title,” he said.
The preliminary round of the competition will take place on Mar 4 at Permymall, starting at noon. The finalists on April 8 will be representing their respective divisions.
Steven said they are expecting more than 600 guests to attend the dinner as ticket sales have been overwhelming.