Lee: Miri Afrolatin Dance Fiesta – a potential tourism event
MIRI: Dance festivals like the Miri Afrolatin Dance Fiesta ( MALF) has a great potential to grow into a major international event that could attract many participants from around the world – thus consolidating this city’s position on the world’s tourism map.
Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin regards the MALF, despite marking its third edition this year, as having attracted world’s famous Afrolatin dancers and participants from 16 countries.
These renowned dance artists include the pair of Curtis and Carola from Spain and France, Albir Rojas from Panama, Saranga Kasun Dias from Sri Lanka, Yassin Mutati from Kenya, Jeff and Alex from Italy and Malaysia, Max Ahmad from Singapore, Sanjay from India, Dewa and Gung’is from Indonesia, as well as Gupson Pierrie from Canada and Selva from Malaysia – both of whom are also renowned deejays.
“I am confident that this Afrolatin fiesta will grow much bigger and be one of the main events hosted in Miri.
“We also have the International Ballroom Dancing held here, which is into its eighth year. The Afrolatin Fiesta will definitely grow and I hope to see more, and as a city with its focus on tourism, more arts and cultural events should be held here to make Miri city more attractive,” said Lee when officiating at the MALF 2019 gala night here on Saturday where Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting, Miri Mayor Adam Yii and his wife Rita Lau, Datuk Lorna Chan who represented Moving Communities, Rurum Kelabit Sarawak president Dr Philip Raja and MALF founder and organising chairperson Dr Safrina Othman.
Adding on Lee, who is Senadin assemblyman, suggested Dr Safrina and her team to form an ‘Afrolatin society, organisation or club’ as a way to get more people who could assist her in organising future MALFs on a much larger scale.
He assured her of his ministry’s support, encouraging her to do a working paper on MALF 2020 early so that his ministry, Sarawak Convention Bureau ( SCB) and Sarawak Tourism Board ( STB) could make early promotions.
In her remarks, Dr Safrina paid tributetoherfamilyforencouraging her and her team to persevere in organising MALF, which began as a dance gathering before it became a ‘grand dance fiesta hosting’ over 100 international participants.
Dr Safrina assured everyone that there would be MALF 2020, ‘and beyond, as long as the Afrolatin enthusiasts wanted it’.