By Shikin Louis
KUCHING, June 3: Bako is famous as a fishing village where city folk would drive down to the village just to buy fresh catches brought by fishermen returning from the sea.
In honour of such livelihood, a competition of ‘mencandat sotong’ (squid jigging) is taking place today until tomorrow (June 4) as part of the inaugural Bako Suntong Festival 2024.
There are about 35 participants who are taking part in the competition where they will go to the sea this evening and aim to catch the biggest haul of squid overnight.
Kuching Resident Dayang Joanita Azizah Abang Morshidi said the festival serves as a platform to expose Bako as part of Sarawak Delta Geopark (SDGp), which is rich in biodiversity heritage.
“For the Resident Office, we are in charge of the awareness and advocacy programmes on SDGp.
“So far, we have conducted a tree-planting programme in Sibu Laut on May 11, the squid jigging in Bako today, and next July, we will be at SMK Paku in Bau,” she said after the opening ceremony of the festival at Bako Terminal here today.
She also has high hopes that the Bako Suntong Festival will be included in the Sarawak Tourism Calendar in the future.
At the same time, Dayang Joanita informed that the Resident Office has plans to emulate Japan in conducting awareness programmes to promote SDGP.
“In Japan, children are taught to become tourist guides, so hopefully, we in Sarawak can try to emulate that kind of situation.
“We cannot just focus on school leavers, but we must educate our children from an early age, such as at kindergarten level so that they know about Kampung Bako and its benefits,” she added.
The festival also featured 20 booths selling local products, a Sarawak Delta Geopark exhibition booth, and various competitions for kids, to name a few.
The inaugural event involved the participation of six villages under the Demak Laut constituency, namely Kampung Bako Hilir, Kampung Bako Tengah, Kampung Bako Hulu, Kampung Bako Lot, Kampung Bako Hijrah and Kampung Bako Mesra. — DayakDaily
