Sabah International Folklore Festival - Participants take to the streets

Kota Kinabalu: Participants from across the globe who will be performing at the Sabah International Folklore Festival paraded in the city centre, Tuesday.

The parade started from the Community Centre and ended at the City Hall building where Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir greeted them.

In his speech he said, the showcase of various cultures from different parts of the world would no doubt enable the people of the State, especially in the city, to enjoy the sensational blend of ethnic dances, as well as musical presentations.

"This festival is not only to celebrate the heritage of different countries but also acts as a platform for cultural exchange," Madingkir said, congratulating the Sabah Cultural Board for organising the festival.

"It is my hope that this festival will continue to be held in Sabah every year and perhaps, with an even bigger number of participating countries," Madingkir said.

Delegates from India, Slovakia, Latvia, Namibia, Taiwan, Belgium, Malaysia, Estonia, China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Turkey, Thailand, Philippines and Egypt will be performing during the festival this year.

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Sabah International Folklore Festival to feature 18 international dance troupes

Kota Kinabalu: The 6th Sabah International Folklore Festival (SIFF) to be held from July 17 to 26 this year will feature 18 international cultural dance troupes.

The festival is an international event to promote cultural tourism, organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment through the Sabah Cultural Board.

"Sabah will be hosting delegates from India, Slovakia, Indonesia, Latvia, Namibia, Taiwan, Belgium, Estonia, Philippines, Egypt, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Korea and Turkey," said Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister, Datuk Bolkiah Ismail. It will be held at the Penampang Cultural Centre.

New elements will be introduced in this year's festival, namely the "Bal-bal" mascot, which is derived from the ethnic Iranun folklore, exhibition and selling of traditional Sabah food and also a cultural parade, he said at the sponsorship cheque handing over here, Wednesday.

"Art enthusiasts will also be able to attend the International Folk Art Festival with participating artists from Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Taiwan, Russia and Malaysia," said Bolkiah, who is also the festival's organising chairman.

The festival has raised a total of RM33,500 in sponsorship from Malakun Holdings Sdn Bhd, Tung-E Enterprise Sdn Bhd, Hotel Juta Sdn Bhd, Progressive Insurance Bhd, Sabah Tea Sdn Bhd, Pantai Dalit Resort, Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Perkasa Tenom, Sabah Softwood Berhad, Saujana Environment and Montis Sdn Bhd.

"This is a yearly event and we hope more agencies and companies will come forward to give their support," he said.

The main objectives of the festival are to promote understanding and harmony through culture; promoting brotherhood through culture; promoting cultural tourism among participating nations; and promoting the State as a tourist destination in Asia in accordance with the "Malaysia Truly Asia" slogan.

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Promote traditional Sabahan food as well

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun has suggested that the traditional food of Sabah be promoted alongside with other State cultural programmes.

He said since traditional food is still relatively unpopular to many people it can be promoted as a tourism product in events such as the Sabah Cultural Fest and Sabah International Folklore Festival to allow visitors to taste local cuisine.

Masidi also noted that there is no restaurant in Sabah specialising in local cuisine even though he believes it has huge potential.

“Four out of 10 visitors I meet ask me where to find local food and I think this is a business opportunity we should consider venturing,” he said at the closing ceremony of the inaugural Traditional Food Festival 2011 at the Sabah Cultural Centre here yesterday.

In fact, the arrival of visitors to Sabah has gone up in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year.

“Even though Japan was hit by the recent tsunami, the Japanese still travel and their arrival to Sabah has gone up by 32 per cent in the first quarter while those from China and Korea respectively went up by 42 per cent and 41 per cent,” he stated.

“All these figures give us the confidence that we are on the right track and making the right move in promoting the tourism industry,” he said.

As such, he called on the people to become spokespersons or ambassadors of the state by acquiring at least some knowledge of the state so that when they are asked by tourists they know what to tell them rather than answering “I don’t know”.

He said this approach was adopted successfully by the people in Bali as they always know how to promote their tourism products and give recommendations to tourists on places to visit in the island.

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