Pesta Siib at Kampung Selampit attracts huge crowd

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Locals stage a performance during the festival. — Photos by Chai Boon Tart

KUCHING: The annual ‘Pesta Siib’ held at Kampung Selampit near here yesterday attracted a big crowd comprising locals and visitors where they not only took part in a dance but were also spoilt for choice with traditional delicacies served during the Gawai celebration.

This year, Mas Gading member of parliament Mordi Bimol joined the festival as the elected representative unlike in the past when he participated in it as an opposition man.

(From right) Miro and Mordi give their thumbs-up to the local traditional delicacies.

Barisan Nasional (BN) Serembu assemblyman Miro Simuh, who was also at the event, extended festive greetings to Mordi where they were seated at the VIP table during the Gawai do with the local community.

In a brief address, Mordi described the festival as a unique activity which he believes people, particularly city dwellers, found intriguing given that participants had to cross the river by boat in order to get to the venue.

Mordi said the locals here hoped to see a bridge linking the two sides of the river to offer greater convenience.

With a bridge in place, he said both locals and visitors would not need to worry about the low tide or long queues when wanting to cross the river.

As the new MP, Mordi said he would try his best to request for a bridge to be erected across the river for the benefit of the locals there.

He said he will also try to include Pesta Siib in the tourism calendar to not only promote the festival but also give a much needed boost to the economic activities of the locals.

Mordi said the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government will continue to introduce and implement different policies from those of the previous federal government.

People enjoy local traditional delicacies at the festival.

He thus called for patience from the community as the PH government is trying to come up with what is best for the nation.

Mordi also assured the people that the PH government will be transparent and fair in all its policies.

Miro, who concurred with Mordi’s remarks earlier, said the festival ought to be made an annual tourism event to attract more people to the area.

According to Miro, Pesta Siib is one of the avenues for visitors to get a taste of what the Gawai celebration is truly about.

He thus urged Mordi to work with the relevant agencies to promote Pesta Siib so that the festival could be organised for many more years to come.

Miro pledged to give his support to the festival, which he believed would play a role to bring the locals together.