All articles of culture in Sabah

31Jul

RM50,000 Awaits MGM Pageant Winner This Year

Kota Kinabalu: This year's Mitarab Gimpuhut Momogun (MGM) winner will bring home prizes worth about RM50,000, including a cash prize of RM10,000. The beauty pageant for Rungus and northern beauties which will become the highlight of the Magahau Fest' finale tomorrow (Monday) will be participated by 21 Rungus beauties from around the country. MGM received numerous sponsorships, including from two private higher learning institutions which offer scholarships to the top winners. Apart from that, the winner for the MGM pageant will also be offered to join Samora and Tourism Malaysia delegates to the International French Travel Market (IFTM) 2017 in Paris, France. Magahau Fest organiser cum Sabah Momogun Rungus Association (Samora) president Datuk Jelani Hamdan said the total prizes for the MGM top seven is worth more than RM300, 000. "The pageant aims to produce skilled ambassadors, in terms of cultural skills such as making traditional crafts, embroidery and dances. "And that is why MGM is not merely a beauty pageant as the judging criteria falls heavily on cultural skills. "The organisers want the pageant to be not only competitive but also educational," he said during a press conference at Ujana Rimba Tropika Park, here, on Saturday. Jelani also disclosed the pageant also witnessed an increase in language proficiency among participants this year, compared to previous editions. "This year's contestants are better prepared…they knew how the competition is being organised, so they made preparations like studying the Rungus language as well as the culture." He said MGM is an excellent avenue to ignite the young generation's interests on traditional culture. On Magahau Fest, Jelani said the festival which has been included in the country and State tourism calendar will attract more than 5,000 attendees, including 100 confirmed foreign tourists. The activities for the National-level Magahau Fest celebration started on Jul 27 with the finale being held on Jul 31 at Puruvan Square, Matunggong. The Magahau Fest was launched at Kanibongan Community Hall, Pitas, on Jul 8 where Pitas Zone was selected as the curtain-raiser for this year's celebration. After Pitas Zone, the fest was held in six other zones – Peninsula Zone, Kota Marudu Zone, Kudat Zone, Beluran Zone, Kota Kinabalu Zone and Matunggong Zone. Among the activities lined up for the fest are traditional sports, traditional food competition, Mitarab Monurizak (singing competition), Mitarab dot Band (band competition), Sodop Papak Tavasi (gala night) apart from the MGM beauty pageant. - Ricardo Unto   Source: TheBorneoPost
By Inside KePKAS, , , Comments Off
Read more...
28Jul

Sabah lines up 16 programmes for National Month

KOTA KINABALU: The state-level month-long National Day celebration will kick off on August 1 at the Dataran Dewan Bandaraya with 16 programmes lined up. Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Hajiji Noor told a press conference here yesterday that the launching of the ‘Bulan Kebangsaan dan Kibar Jalur Gemilang 2017’ event will be officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman. Hajiji, who is the chairman of the state-level celebration’s organising committee, said the theme of the event is ‘Negaraku Sehati Sejiwa’ and it was chosen as solidarity and unity strengthens national integration among Malaysia’s multi-racial society. The event will culminate on August 31 where the annual National Day Parade will be held at Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens and it will be graced by Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin, he disclosed. “Other than the motorised floats and march by uniformed bodies, schools and state agencies, there will also be a cultural performance,” Hajiji added. According to Hajiji, among the 16 activities lined up during the month are the ‘Pertandingan Pidato NegaraKu’, ‘Anugerah Keceriaan NegaraKu Bulan Kebangsaan’, ‘Kembara Merdeka NegaraKu 2017’, ‘Program NegaraKu@Komuniti’ and ‘Pertandingan Pengisahan NegeraKu’. He added that there will also be a photography competition, poster competition, exhibition on Malaysia, ‘Grafiti Ekspresi NegaraKu Malaysia’ and the conferring of the ‘Battle Honour’ Daulat 2013 award. He said in conjunction with National Month, the Sabah State Islamic Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) would conduct tahlil recital and prayers for safety. The Sabah Council of Churches would also hold prayers and fast for 40 days from Aug 1 till Sept 16 while Chinese associations representing Buddhist temples in Sabah would also hold prayers for the well-being and prosperity of the country, he said. “I urge all Sabahans to show their love for the country by raising the national and state flags on their buildings, residences, premises and even vehicles during the month-long celebration,” Hajiji said.   Source: TheBorneoPost
By Inside KePKAS, , Comments Off
Read more...
27Jul

Challenging Weekend for Cyclists

KOTA KINABALU: Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) will be organizing the second edition of Kota Kinabalu City Cycling Challenge 2017 this weekend as part of its effort in promoting healthy lifestyle. The two-day event jointly organized with DBKK Cycling Club, Junior Cycling Malaysia (JCM), Cycling Association of Tuaran (CAT) and supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports will be held at Padang Merdeka on July 29 to 30. Mayor Datuk Yeo Boon Hai said that 39km Team Time Trial (TTT) Challenge and the Criterium Challenge will be flagged off at 6am on the first day. The TTT is divided into two categories which are Road Bike and Mountain Bike with 28 and 17 participating teams respectively. The route for these categories is from Padang Merdeka – Wisma Jubili – Bunga Raya Raoundabout – The Peak Traffic Lights – Istiadat Roundabout – Masjid Bandaraya Roundabout – Kingfisher Roundabout – Mini Puterajaya – UMS – Rampayan – Indah Permai – KKIP Traffic Lights – Salut Commercial Centre Roundabout and a round back to Padang Merdeka. Meanwhile, Yeo stated that the Criterium Challenge will be held at Menara Tun Mustapha, Yayasan Sabah to promote the beautiful scenery of Tanjung Lipat. The event is expected to see 100 participants from Junior and Open categories. On the following day, two events will take place at Padang Merdeka – the 105km Mass Start Road Bike and 71km Mass Start Mountain Bike with 261 and 216 participants for each category which will be flagged off at 6am. The 105km Road Bike Challenge will cover a route from Padang Merdeka – Jalan Padang – Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman – Jalan Tuaran – Jalan By-Pass Tuaran – Jalan Tuaran – Jalan Tuaran-Kota Belud – Jalan Topokon Labuaya – Jalan Tuaran-Kota Belud – Jalan Marabahai Spur – Jalan Sulaman – Jalan Politeknik – Jalan Sepanggar – Jalan UMS – Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens – Jalan KK By-Pass – Lorong Dewan – Padang Merdeka. Meanwhile, the 71km Mountain Bike Challenge route will be from Padang Merdeka – Jalan Padang – Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman – Jalan Tuaran – Jalan By-Pass Tuaran – Jalan Tuaran – Jalan Marabahai Spur – Jalan Sulaman – Jalan Politeknik – Jalan Sepanggar – Jalan UMS – Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens – Jalan KK By-Pass – Lorong Dewan – Padang Merdeka. A total of 708 participants from various districts in Sabah, Labuan, Sarawak, Peninsula as well as Brunei, Indonesia and Italy will be competing in this year’s cycling challenge. According to Yeo, there will also be lucky draw cash prizes worth a total of RM43,000 on the final day of the program while five main prizes worth a total of RM25,000 will be given to lucky winners according to their bib numbers. “The objectives of the second edition of City Cycling Challenge are to bring awareness to the public especially the younger generations to be involved in sports and the importance of a healthy lifestyle through cycling; to bring the society towards ‘Fit Malaysia; to produce talented athletes in international-level cycling sports; to create unity through cycling among multiracial participants; to bring message for motorists to share the roads with cyclists; and to generate the sports, economy and tourism industries,” said Yeo. Source: New Sabah Times
By Inside KePKAS, , Comments Off
Read more...
26Jul

Rural Tourism Roadshow to Introduce New Attractions

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will continue to identify new products around the State in tandem with the positive growth of the tourism industry here. As such, STB will lead an event where rural tourism product owners could engage, promote and partner with tour operators. “This is the time to show the world what rural areas in Sabah can offer in terms of tourism products,” said chairman of Sabah Tourism Board, Datuk Joniston Bangkuai during a courtesy call on Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Hj Aman. Musa agreed that it is a very good initiative to showcase what Sabah’s rural areas are offering for the thriving tourism industry. “It is indeed very important to tell Sabah’s rural story to the world including its natural attractions, rich cultural heritage and an array of tourism products. Developing rural tourism will also assist our rural folks in uplifting their livelihood. I commend STB on this effort to give touristic value to the lesser known parts of Sabah,” he said. The first Sabah Rural Tourism Roadshow 2017 is about appreciating and publicizing new and available rural tourism products to the general public as well as tourism industry players, who will create promotions and packages for both domestic and international segments. Four districts, namely Kiulu, Ranau, Kadamaian and Tambunan, will be the highlight during the roadshow which will be held on August 5 and 6 at Imago Shopping Mall, which is also sponsoring the venue. Activities like quizzes and games such as butod eating challenge, treasure hunt, traditional performances and games and children’s activities will be available at the event. “This roadshow is the result of a workshop organized by STB in May for district offices that focus on developing district and rural tourism by activating their respective District Tourism Councils. STB has put a huge amount of effort in supporting this initiative since 2014,” said Joniston. Also present during the courtesy call were STB general manager Gordon Yapp, Kiulu Tourism Association president Dr Edmon Guntis, Kadamaian Tourism Association president Walter Kandayon and STB senior product manager Julinus Jimit.   Source: TheBorneoPost
By Inside KePKAS, , Comments Off
Read more...
25Jul

Sabah First To Host Farmers’ Carnival

Kota Kinabalu: The National Farmers' Organisation (Nafas) has chosen Sabah as the first State to launch its new products at the Malaysia Farmers' Carnival. Its Deputy Chairman Datuk Mohd Nazri Abdullah said the carnival which will be held annually in other states on a rotation basis was aimed at uniting the organisation's members nationwide, besides introducing the Nafas line of new products. He said the carnival in Sabah, which started on Sunday, will continue until July 25 at Dataran Begandang, Beaufort. "Among activities conducted at the carnival are fiesta, exhibition, community programmes in several locations such as Dewan Pak Musa, Kampung Lubuk in Weston and Kampung Luagan, besides in Dataran Begandang," he said. He said during the carnival, the promotion of maize planting would also be held to encourage members of the organisation and members of the public who have idle land in rural areas, to be involved in maize planting. "Nafas through the Regional Farmers Association (PPK) will encourage farmers to plant maize through maize seeds provided by Nafas," he said.   Source: Daily Express
By Inside KePKAS, Comments Off
Read more...