Samarahan Gawai Dayak Festival 2017 at Summer Mall May 14
KUCHING: Kota Samarahan Municipal Council Chairman Dato Peter Minos is appealing to the public, particularly members of the Dayak community to come in droves to the Samarahan Gawai Dayak Festival 2017 at the Summer Mall on May 14.
“All fellow Dayaks – the Bidayuh, Iban and Orang Ulu - please come to the grand opening ceremony of the Samarahan Gawai Dayak Festival 2017 at 2pm on May 14 at the Summer Mall Kota Samarahan. The ceremony will be graced by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas,” he said adding that he also invited Dayak students and staff from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak ( Unimas) to support the festival.
The organisers of Ratu Gawai Dayak Samarahan 2017 – a highlight of the festival – yesterday selected nine semi-finalists for the final on May 14, said Minos when met recently.
The nine semi-finalists consist of three each from the Iban, Bidayuh and Orang Ulu communities.
“This is the first Gawai Dayak celebration at municipal level in Samarahan and it will be the same for Hari Raya and Chinese New Year. KSMC feels that the three community celebrations will get the council closer to the local people, apart from showing respect to their cultures and traditions,” he said.
The festival will be showcasing Dayak culture as Dayak top singers and cultural dancers will be performing apart from the Ratu contest.
“There are over 20 Iban villages in Samarahan and three Bidayuh villages and all indicated interest in the festival. Their councillors noted that they want to promote and perpetuate Dayak culture in a rapidly growing and progressing Kota Samarahan and not to be forgotten or cast aside by fastmoving economic development in the area,” he pointed out.