‘Support vital in making RWMF a success’

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Abdul Karim (third left) presents an appreciation certificate to a sponsor’s representative while (from right) Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports Snowdan Liwan, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Datuk Lee Kim Shin, and STB chairman Datuk Abdul Wahab Aziz look on. — Photos by Chimon Upon.

(From left) Abdul Wahab, Snowdan, Lee and Abdul Karim at the dinner.

KUCHING: Festival organisers from Korea, Taiwan and Cuba who will join the Rainforest World Music Festival this year are eager to partner with tourism ministry to organise future festivals.

“The festival has come a long way from a mere 300 attendants for the inaugural event in 1998, to a crowd of over 18,000 people last year,” said Minister of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah at a sponsors’ appreciation dinner here Wednesday.

He said as the festival was continuing to grow in size, the support becomes indispensable and essential in making the festival more successful, providing a benchmark of similar international festivals in the region.

He said the festival this year would feature an inaugural Wellness Programme in the form of workshop sessions which would start at 11am daily.

The programme includes activities like ‘Capoeira’ a Brazilian martial arts-dance, traditional yoga and more.

He thanked the sponsors such as Malaysia Airlines the festival’s presenting sponsor since 2016, Zurich Insurance Malaysia Berhad and Zurich Takaful Malaysia Berhad, GrabCar and Maxis.

Other sponsors are Cahya Mata Sarawak, Sarawak Energy, KKB Engineering, Saradise, Trienekens and Harwood Timber.

The 20th Rainforest World Music Festival will be held from July 14 to 17 at Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong.

Organized by Sarawak Tourism Board, the event gathers renowned world musicians to perform throughout the three nights.