Rumah Aut Ujom plays hosts to Asean students in YSS for second time

SONG: Rumah Aut Ujom at Nanga Temalat here once again played host to 20 university students from Asean countries who participated in the ‘Student Volunteers Foundation ( YSS) – Asean Mission to Sarawak’ programme.

The 20- door longhouse, located along the Rajang river, first hosted students for a similar programme in 2016.

Kapit MP Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi said there must be “something special” about the longhouse for it to be chosen again by YSS.

“This programme is very beneficial to both participants and host because some of the students will perhaps become the prime minister of their respective countries, and they will look back to their visit to this longhouse.

“As the host, we can see the benefit that we believe will come to us from this kind of programme,” he said when officiating at the welcoming ceremony for the students on Saturday.

A total of 40 university students from countries in the Asean region were selected for the programme in Kapit division.

From the total, 20 students were each placed at Kampung Gelam and Rumah Aut Ujom, and will be stationed at selected schools where they will help teachers in the teaching and learning process.

The schools selected for the programme in this district are SK Nanga Beguang, SK Nanga Temalat, SJK Hin Hua and SK Nanga Embuau.

The students will prepare a report that will be presented at the end of the programme in Putrajaya.

During the ceremony, the students were given a traditional welcome by Tuai Rumah Aut and residents upon arriving at the longhouse.

Longhouse folk slaughtered a pig, performed the ‘miring’ ritual as well as the ‘ngajat’ dance.

Also present were YSS chairman Datuk Zuraidah Atan and Foreign Affairs Ministry Sarawak Regional Office director Deddy Faisal Ahmad Salleh.