Produce ‘made in Tenom’ dumpling — Radin
TENOM: Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Radin Malleh has urged the Chinese community here to produce Tenom zongzi (rice dumpling).
“The Chinese traditional food better known as kochung can be highlighted as another food product that is popular in the market such as Tenom Coffee, Tenom Chongken and Tenom Tofu,” he said when officiating the Duan Wu celebration held at Malleh Square here on Sunday.
He said the quality and standard of the zongzi must also be maintained to get better response from the public.
Radin also suggested to the program organizer to jointly organize the Tenom Chinese Carnival as a way to promote this celebration and other Chinese traditional cultures.
He said that perhaps Pegalan and Padas river can also be used as a suitable location for organizing the Interior Dragon Boat Race which can be one of the events in this celebration in the future.
“Such programs can attract people to visit this area and boost the tourism sector and the socio-economic activities in this district.
“The program can also be promoted by the Tenom Tourism Information Center, which was officially opened by the Chief Minister on May 11.”
Radin also urged the Chinese community to always cooperate with the government to address certain elements who want to destroy the harmony and unity among the various races and hamper the progress of this state.
He said the support of the people, especially the Chinese community is needed to ensure continuity of government development in rural areas of the state, including the district.
According to him, the festival gave a lot of inspiration about the significance, loyalty, identity, integrity, patriotism, cooperation, unity and stability that are important to the wellbeing of the people.
He said the celebration also raised awareness among the various races in Sabah and this district particularly among the younger Chinese generation on the importance of values of the traditional culture.
“It is also a channel for us to improve the sense of belonging and identity among our young people to strive to conserve and develop the customs and culture respectively so that it remains relevant and does not expire over time.
“The diversity of cultures and customs is not an obstacle for the people of various races in the state to be united, to live in harmony and work together for common progress. This advantage, uniqueness and privilege of our society must be maintained at all times,” he said.
Radin, who is also Melalap assemblyman, added people of various races in the state, especially the Chinese community always get the government attention.
He said that the organization of this festival proved the commitment and support of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government towards the efforts of the Chinese community to maintain, practise and develop their culture. Even the state government led by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman is sensitive to the needs of people of various races, including the Chinese community.
He hoped that this program would continue in the future as it will highlight the uniqueness and diversity of the ethnic cultures found in this state in general and in this district to the international community.
According to him, ethnic culture that has been developed into a tourism product can generate growth in the economy sectors in various countries and regions in the world, including in Malaysia and especially in this state.
Hence, he said the close cooperation between the state government and cultural bodies in Sabah has been very significant to elevate their culture to a higher level.