By Christine T
KUCHING, Oct 30: Traditional Sarawak Malay rhythms took on an international flavour at this year’s Sarawak Malay Gendang Mega Competition, with teams from Indonesia and Brunei joining local performers in the contest held at Kuching Waterfront today.
The competition, part of the 12th Sarawak Drum Festival (FGS) 2026, featured six groups representing various zones across Sarawak, alongside teams from Indonesia and Brunei.
Organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture (MOTAC) through the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Sarawak, in collaboration with the Sarawak Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts (MTCP) and the Kuching Divisional Resident’s Office, the festival runs from Oct 29 to Nov 1 in conjunction with the Sarawak Regatta – Kuching Waterfront Festival.
Carrying the theme ‘Nadi Warisan Irama Tradisi’, the festival celebrates traditional rhythms and cultural heritage through four competition categories: Group Bermukun, Adult Men’s Tandak Doubles, Adult Women’s Seh Gendang Doubles, and Children’s Tandak Doubles.
The participating groups qualified through zonal-level competitions which began on June 20, with the selection rounds concluding in Kuching on Oct 24 and 25.
The competition’s semi-finals took place this morning, featuring the Bermukun Group category, while the afternoon session saw the finals for Adult Men’s Tandak Doubles and Adult Women’s Seh Gendang Doubles.
The winners across the four categories were Warisan Lelaki Berzaman in the Adult Men’s Tandak Doubles category; Duak Beranak Dari Kpg Sejaie in the Adult Women’s Seh Gendang Doubles category; Warih Melanau in Bermukun Group and Pewaris Telaga Air in Children’s Tandak Doubles.
In the Group Bermukun category, four groups competed, namely Khazanah Warisan and Gabungan Sri Kenyalang representing Kuching, Selendang Sutera from Brunei, and Warih Melanau from Sibu.
The Children’s Tandak Doubles category also featured four groups: Warih Melanau from Sibu, Lengkang Wijaya from Miri, and PEWARIS and Warisan Seri Tanjung representing Kuching.
Adding to the festival atmosphere were special performances by local Sarawak artistes Hazmil Hazan and Ellliza Suziena.
A four-member panel led by Razali Yu judged the competition, along with Yusup Buang, Faizal Jamil, and Ismail Zakira.
The prize presentation ceremony was jointly officiated by Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts and Minister of Youth, Sports, and Entrepreneur Development Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah; MTCP Permanent Secretary Datu Morshidi Fredrick; and National Department for Culture and Arts Deputy Director-General (Culture and Arts Sector) Mohd Radzi Omar. — DayakDaily
