Mawan (third left) presenting the prize to a representative of Ruai Lamujan for winning the Ruai Pakan contest.
PAKAN: The Pakan Fest, which has been held over the past consecutive 17 years, would be maintained as the district’s signature annual event.
According to its assemblyman Tan Sri William Mawan, this is warranted based on the overwhelming response it has received and the great benefits it has brought to the local community.
“The Pakan folk are always looking forward to seeing the festival becoming grander and merrier each year,” said Mawan, who is also Saratok MP.
His message was delivered by Sarikei Resident Dahim Nadot at the closing of the 10-day festival at Laman Pakan here on Friday.
Mawan, who is also Social Development Minister, hoped the festival’s 18th edition next year would be organised on a grander scale, with the inclusion of better quality activities.
He, however, realized that in making this happen, it would require substantial funding.
In his address, District Officer Alex Liau said despite facing financial constraints, he was glad that this year’s festival had been smooth throughout and more importantly, it had achieved its objectives.
“Among them were to encourage the people to practise healthy lifestyles through active involvement in sports, to foster harmonious relationship and mutual respect between those in the local community, to inculcate competitive spirit in the young generation, and to explore and exploit the economic strength of the district, especially its potential as a tourism destination,” he said.
Hence, Liau felt the choice of ‘Cergas, Harmoni, Maju’ (Vibrant, Harmonious, Pregressing) as this year’s theme was very apt.
He added that to ensure more successful Pakan Fest events in the future, he would soon bring all the committees together to conduct a post-mortem on the activities carried out throughout the 10 days.
This year, the festival attracted a crowd of over 2,000.
The ‘Kumang’ and ‘Keling’ pageants were the highlights of the closing ceremony, which also saw performances by local recording artistes and presentation of prizes for various contests.
Among those present were Mawan’s wife Puan Sri Julia Mawan, Julau Distict police chief DSP Bidol Noyeng, Meradong/Julau District Council secretary Adrian Luang and Julau Parliamentary Special Affairs Department (Jasa) officer Sylvester Embuas.