Dr Abdul Rahman (third left) and other guests watch some of the performances during the Chinese New Year gathering at Bandar Baru Semariang.
KUCHING: The spirit of 1Malaysia can be seen in Bandar Baru Semariang here, says Pantai Damai assemblyman Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi. He added that Bandar Baru Semariang is home to about 100 houses of the Chinese community that have very strong ties with the other races here.
“The Chinese community has integrated well in Bandar Baru Semariang – for example, one house may have a Chinese husband and an Iban wife. We see this as a good platform to unite the community here.
“The Chinese New Year gathering here was not only organised by the Chinese community, but also the Malay, Bidayuh and Iban communities staying in Bandar Baru Semariang,” Dr Abdul Rahman told reporters at the gathering on Saturday night.
He added that these sort of activities could help build stronger bonds between the communities as well as ensure that the younger generation was not negatively influenced by posts on the internet that could potentially ruin the harmony here.
“These programmes also allow us to include some welfare donations for target groups identified by Skuad Sayang Pantai Damai, such as single mothers or disabled children, which they carry out monthly,” Dr Abdul Rahman added.
He also stated that they were planning on making activities such as the Chinese New Year gathering an annual event and extending it to other celebrations such as Hari Gawai, Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Christmas.
“The PBB committee have been supportive and proactive for this Chinese New Year gathering, so I’m sure that we want to make this an annual event in the future,” he said.