By Shikin Louis
KOTA SAMARAHAN, May 11: The next Samarahan Food and Cultural Festival (SFCF) should be a month-long affair, following in the footsteps of the renowned Kuching Festival Food Fair (Kuching Fest).
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said under the leadership of Kota Samarahan Municipal Council (MPKS), SFCF has been progressing well with the 2022 edition organised for only a week, followed by 10 days for this year – from May 10 to 19.
“Maybe one day the event can be organised for a whole month like Kuching Fest by Kuching South City Council (MBKS), where it is held for three weeks.
“Within three weeks, the total number of visitors for Kuching Fest has reached over 1 million. The (total revenue) collection was also ‘remarkable’. This also benefited everyone be it the traders or the visitors.
“That is why I can see that if we (MPKS) properly organise a food and cultural festival, it can achieve what was achieved by MBKS during Kuching Fest,” he said when officiating at the Samarahan Food and Cultural Festival (SFCF) 2024 opening ceremony held at Aiman Mall here last night (May 10).
He also assured MPKS that the Ministry will financially support the festival as he encourages the Council to turn the biennial event as an annual event.
The third edition of SFCF features about 80 local traders selling various traditional and popular food, beverages, and handcraft products.
Throughout the festival, visitors were also entertained with various cultural activities from diverse ethnicities including ‘bermukun’ performance, ‘Zapin Sindang’ dance performance, Chinese orchestra, 24 season drum performance and ‘Gendang Pampat Iban’, among others.
Also present were Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Snowdan Lawan; MPKS chairman Dato Peter Minos; MTCP permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini; Samarahan Resident Irwan Bahari Bujang; SFCF 2024 organising chairwoman Dr Florince Christy; and Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) administrative officer Bong Lin Sze. — DayakDaily
