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- Yii (third left) presenting a souvenir to Uggah, witnessed by (from left) Dennis, Dr Sim, Lee (third right) and others.
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- A section of participants at the City Fan waiting for the parade to begin.
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- The crowd near the grand stand.
MIRI: The success of the 9th Miri City Christmas Parade at Miri City Fan here on Saturday night manifested by the crowd of more than 45,000 has triggered pledges of financial support for next year’s parade.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas who officiated at the parade announced a grant of RM50,000 for the 2017 Christmas parade.
In his speech, Uggah said he was happy to be able to join the parade.
“Indeed I feel very honoured to be among the 45,000 Christians thronging the Miri City Fan here. Thank you to the organising committee for inviting me over and also to officiate at the ceremony tonight.”
He assured the crowd that the state government will continue to support religious festival gatherings such as the Christmas Parade.
“Tonight we witness a gathering of 45,000 people of various races and religions, reflecting the religious freedom in our country, especially in Sarawak.
“There is no fear, no worries and we all come together to celebrate and stage the parade,” he said.
Assistant Minister for Land and Air Transportation and Safety and Assistant Minister for Tourism, Datuk Lee Kim Shin who also attended the parade had earlier pledged a grant of RM20,000.
Minister for Local Government Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian also chipped in with a RM10,000 grant.
Mulu assemblyman Datuk Gerawat Gala (RM20,000), Baram MP Anyi Ngau (RM20,000), Telang Usan assemblyman Dennis Ngau (RM10,000) and Piasau assemblyman Datuk Sebastian Ting (RM10,000) also announced grants for the next parade.
Themed ‘Peace on Earth’, the parade was jointly organised by Miri City Council (MCC) and the Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS).
The participants were from 15 churches here.
Among the others present at the launching ceremony were Miri Mayor Adam Yii, Miri Resident Antonio Kahti Galis and the Right Reverend Solomon Cheong Sung Voon, the Anglican Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Kuching (Sarawak and Brunei) and the Vicar of St Columba’s Parish.