BY Lyna Mohamad

The Tutong Ethnic Festival, the biggest event to be conducted in the district, was held at the Seri Kenangan Hall in the Tutong District on Saturday.

Themed ‘Kebudayaan Menyatupadukan Masyarakat’ (Culture Unites the Society), the festival was organised by mukim and village consultative councils (MPMK) in the district led by Acting Village Head of Kampong Pengkalan Bau, Kampong Bakiau and Kampong Batang Mitus Suhili bin Alas.

Acting Tutong District Officer Ajmin bin Haji Meludin was the guest of honour.

Suhili said the event was the first jointly developed project, bringing MPMK as well as villagers together to actively enrich cultural activities as a group.

The festival was initiated by MPMK to meet the needs and preferences of the community by holding activities to foster unity in the district recognising diverse cultures while maintaining a cooperative attitude towards the mukim and village residents of different ethnicities and backgrounds.

He added that the various MPMK also focussed on welfare matters, with 10 per cent of the proceeds from the event to be contributed to the orphans fund.

The event aimed to not only strengthen ties within the different ethnicities but also inculcated a value of togetherness, exposed cultural knowledge to youth on their heritage and raised awareness in preserving ethnic cultures, which could be an avenue for eco-tourism.

It also served to enliven events in the district; strengthen mukim and village unity; ignite ideas for penghulus and village heads towards cultural knowledge and events; increase relations through cultural and arts exchange; and expand networks in the context of Malay art, particularly in the socio-economic aspect to develop the Malay civilisation.

-- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin