Saemah and her husband Dr Muhamad Rais Abdullah (centre), who is Sibu Divisional Health Officer, pose with the KYS group after the dinner at their home on Wednesday night.
SIBU: Family members of ‘Khatib Yusuf Sambas’ from Sambas and Pontianak, Indonesia are currently here for the inaugural Khatib Yusuf Sambas (KYS) Goodwill Visit Programme.
Group coordinator Saemah Hamidon said the group of 60 family members have visited some of the major tourist attractions here, including Sibu Town Square, the famous Tua Pek Kong Temple, which is the oldest Chinese temple built in the 1850s, as well as Sibu Central Market.
“Besides that, they also visited Sarawak’s tallest building, the 126-metre Wisma Sanyan, and also Sibu An-Nur Mosque,” she said when met at the welcoming dinner for the delegates held at her home here on Wednesday.
Saemah, who is also a family member of Khatib Yusuf Sambas, said the aim of the three-day visit, which began on Wednesday, was to strengthen the relationship between KYS families in Sibu and those from Sambas and Pontianak.
“Our KYS families can be found not only in Sibu, but also in Kuching, Bintulu, Miri and Brunei Darussalam. That is why we have KYS branches in all of these places and we can easily organise a visit through the network of KYS branches,” she added.
Sibu Rural District Council (SRDC) secretary Justani Joni, who assisted Saemah in the programme, said during the colonial period, family members of KYS travelled to Sarawak and Brunei, and some eventually settled down at these places after marriage.
“That is why KYS families can be found in Sarawak and Brunei today,” he said when met during the KYS delegates’ visit to SRDC yesterday morning.