Longest non-stop sape performance enters Malaysia Book of Records
MIRI: Sape players put Sarawak in the Malaysia Book of Records with the ‘Longest Non- Stop Sape Performance’ here yesterday.
The 54 sape players in the successful record bid are mostly from Baram and Belaga areas, including the first batch of 20 players from Warisan Sape Telang Usan programme, as well as the internationally- acclaimed sape maestro Mathew Ngau Jau.
They played together for 50 hours, either in groups or solo, in a non-stop musical relay, starting at 9.30am on Feb 15 and concluding at noon yesterday.
Edwin Yeoh, an adjudicator from Malaysia Book of Records ( MBOR), officially declared the attempt a success during the closing ceremony at Auditorium RTM Miri yesterday.
Present to witness the achievement were Sarawak Energy Bhd executive vice president for corporate services Aisah Eden, Sarawak Broadcasting director Zainal Abidin Asri Abd Wahid, RTM Sarawak deputy director Tabat Sakai, Sarawak Energy general manager (corporate social responsibility and sustainability) Jiwari Abdul lah, RTM Miri controller Zaidi Bujang, local community leaders and sape music enthusiasts.
Aisah expressed her gratitude to RTM for its collaboration, and also to the sape players for the record- setting feat.
“We are proud to be part of this event, which helps develop interest among the public and reignite interest of the younger generation in pursuing this further,” she said during a press conference at the event.
“Such initiatives are aligned to our corporate social responsibility principle to develop young people not only in education, but also in arts and heritage like sape, besides promoting conservation of culture and heritage,” she added.
Aisah said Sarawak Energy would continue to assess proposals or such programmes on a regular basis.
“Sape is one programme that we have chosen for this year. We have other community-related initiatives like the Penan Handicraft Proje c t , where handicrafts from the Murum Penan i n Belaga a rea a re displayed.”
Meanwhile, Zainal commended Sarawak Energy for initiating the idea and staying committed to the programme jointly with RTM to achieve this success.
“It proves that (it is) not only sports but also music and culture (that) can bring us all together. This is the mani festation of how we unite in diversity,” said Zainal.
Yeoh, who is a lso MBOR oper at ion s , re sea rch and marketing manager, regarded the record as unique and threw the challenge to Sarawak Energy and RTM to organise more recordbreaking feats, such as building the longest regatta boat.
“There is quite a lot of heritage and culture in Sarawak that can go for records. Overall from last year, 40 per cent of MBOR records achieved were from either Sabah or Sarawak. So hopefully Sabah and Sarawak would be able to create more,” he said.
The programme yesterday also featured stalls offering a wide range of local handicrafts, including sape with traditional designs and also food to enrich visitors’ experience.
The attempt was aired live over some of RTM’s channels, with different traditional and new sape tunes by both veteran and young players.