KUCHING, Feb 18: Bonsai growers from across Sarawak have been dying to show off their pride and joy in Sarawak’s largest Bonsai and Suiseki competition.
The ‘Sarawak Open — Bonsai & Suiseki Championship’ featuring 168 trees in 19 categories will take place at Hock Seng Lee’s (HSL) La Promenade Mall next week from Feb 23 to 28.
2022 Sarawak Open organising chairman Hayes Teo said the entries came from Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, and Miri.
“It’s been so long since we’ve competed. Over recent years, many members have had extra time to cultivate their plants.
“I’m genuinely surprised at the number of participants. They’re driving all the way here to transport their plants. It’s going to be a beautiful show,” he said in a statement today.
Organisers, the Sarawak Bonsai Association (SBA) and HSL, said it was no surprise that the competition would be this huge as the 2022 Sarawak Open is the first Bonsai and Suiseki contest since 2019.
HSL executive director Tony Yu, an avid Bonsai enthusiast, said bigger Bonsai would also be on display, and many are easily well over 300 kilograms.
“On behalf of HSL, it is our great honour that the association chose La Promenade Mall for the 2022 Open. I feel delighted to have so many participants.
“As it’s so well prepared, it was an easy decision for us to support the event financially, enabling extra categories and prizes to be won,” he said.
Meanwhile, SBA president Johnson Jong said La Promenade was chosen as one of the organisers for its appreciation toward landscaping as portrayed around the mall.
The championship will be held on the entire ground floor of La Promenade, where plants will be displayed in the exhibition hall and the mall’s atriums while the bigger plants are placed at the main car park.
The judges will comprise a mix of specialists from the Malaysia Bonsai and Suiseki Society (MBSS) and the Sarawak association.
“Bon-sai” is a Japanese loanword from Chinese, translated to “planted in a small container”.
This art form, which has been around for over a thousand years, is derived from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice since the Tang dynasty, redeveloped under the Japanese Zen’s influence.
“Suiseki”, a Japanese term meaning “water stone”, is a generic term for naturally shaped stone or rocks collected and appreciated for aesthetic qualities.
Entry to the Sarawak Open at La Promenade Mall is free. A calendar of events will be published at hsl.com.my and lapromenademall.com.my soon.
For updates, follow @hslcn and @lapromenademall on social media. — DayakDaily
