By Jaythaleela K
MIRI, May 8: The Miri Gawai Dayak Bazaar (GDB) is an important platform to bring the Dayak community together to interact and reaffirm the community spirit, which is an essential part of their way of life and tradition.
According to Deputy Minister in the Premier of Sarawak’s Department (Labour, Immigration and Project Monitoring) Dato Gerawat Gala, this also allows the Dayak community to interact and cultivate the spirit of friendship with other communities.
“Those who migrated to cities or towns have adapted to the environment because the social atmosphere and way of life are very different from the environment at the longhouse.
“Although our Dayak community living in cities or towns may not be as tightly knit together compared to those living in the longhouse, we must not lose or forget our community spirit, which has kept us together over the years,” he said when officiating at the opening ceremony of the bazaar on Saturday night (May 7).
Gerawat, who is Mulu assemblyman, commended Gagasan Anak Dayak Sarawak (GADS) for putting together the bazaar after a two-year absence due to Covid-19.
He applauded GADS for coming up with the initiative in 2015 as the bazaar allowed the Dayak community to promote their products and provided networking opportunities.
A total of 70 traders are taking part in this year’s Gawai Dayak Bazaar.
The bazaar, with the theme ‘Together For A Shared Future’, will be held from May 2 until May 21.
The bazaar is part of the State-level Gawai Dayak celebration, which will take place on May 25 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) and will be hosted by the Orang Ulu community. — DayakDaily
