Pitas event listed as Sabah’s newtourist draw

PITAS: After three decades being touted as the district’s most awaited annual festival, the Pitas non-stop, seven-day Chinese New Year celebration has been listed as Sabah’s latest tourist attraction.

Organising chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ruddy Awah said he received news of the recognition in a letter from the Sabah Tourism Board.

“Over the last few years, the organisers have been asking the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry to include the festival in the state tourism calendar.

“This event brings together the cultures of all ethnic groups in the state.

“This celebration probably does not exist anywhere else in the country,’’ he said at the closing of the event here on Saturday by Communications and Multimedia Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak.

Ruddy said many tourists attended the festival which had been endorsed by the Malaysia Book of Records as the longest non-stop Chinese New Year festival.

He said the festival had a positive impact on Pitas’ economy and would also help forge closer relations between locals and those from outside the district.

Besides cultural performances, the festival also lined up a variety of activities such as sports, concerts, poetry recital and stalls selling local produce. — Bernama

Source: The Star