Puteri Dang Balai Yayasan Sarawak team members celebrate with their trophies.
KUCHING: Puteri Dang Balai Yayasan Sarawak was crowned ‘Raja Sungai’ (King of the River) after winning the main event – the 30 Male Paddlers Bidar race – which was the climax of Sarawak Regatta 2018 yesterday.
The action-packed event along the Sarawak River and Kuching Waterfront featured 24 qualifying races and 12 finals over three days.
Rangers 1966 were the runners-up while another Puteri Dang Balai Yayasan Sarawak team took third spot.
The champions walked away with the RM10,000 cash prize and the Yang Di-Pertua Sarawak State Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud Trophy.
The annual major event in Sarawak’s calendar was a showcase of boat races which drew participation from government agencies, the private sector and from teams from Indonesia and Brunei.
Apart from the 14 categories of boat races were various activities and games such as the Brooke Swim, Raft Tug-of-War, duck catching, exhibitions and a market held in conjunction with the iconic event.
The history of the Sarawak Regatta dates back to the era of Sarawak’s first ‘White’ Rajah, James Brooke.
It is believed that Brooke wanted to promote peace and end tribal warfare by encouraging various tribal groups to challenge each other in boat races instead.
Sarawak Regatta 2018 is organised by Kuching Residence Office. This year’s main sponsor was Petronas with Sarawak government as the platinum sponsor, Petra Energy Berhad as gold sponsor, Cahya Mata Sarawak and Ta Ann both being the bronze sponsors.
Among the dignitaries in attendance yesterday were deputy chief minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Datuk Snowdan Lawan, Assistant Minister of E-Commerce Datuk Mohd Naroden Majais, Kuching Resident Ismail Mohamad Hanis and Petronas Sarawak region general manager Shamsur Taha.