By Nancy Nais
KUCHING, Nov 3: The Sarawak government is looking into increasing the prize money for the coveted ‘Raja Sungai’ or ‘King of River’ title from RM10,000 to RM30,000 next year.
Speaking to reporters after the annual Sarawak Regatta event today, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said this is for the main event, under the Head of State category, which is the main event.
“The event has been very successful over the years. The fact is that this year, the regatta involved participants from as far as United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Macau.
“As we have discussed a while ago, we will consider increasing the prize money for ‘Raja Sungai’ to RM30,000. We will increase the budget for this,” he said, adding that the existing amount is RM10,000.
As for the other categories, Abang Johari said the prize monies will be given by several state assemblymen.
This year’s instalment of the Sarawak Regatta held from Oct 26 until today at the Kuching Waterfront showcased exciting boat races with participation from various government agencies, private sector organisations and teams from neighbouring countries Indonesia and Brunei.
It attracted 1,400 participants representing a total of 42 teams from 14 countries.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari also pointed out that a similar event which is quite unique is the Powerboat Race in Kapit.
“The Powerboat Race is held in Kapit and for this, the state government has recently upgraded the Kapit Waterfront. This is more towards tourist attraction for interior areas,” he said. — DayakDaily
