Juliana (seated centre) with Upko Wanita exco members.
PENAMPANG: Upko Women is organising a contest offering a total prize of more than RM10,000 to find the best creative Sabah traditional attire design.
Its chief, Datin Juliana Jani, said the contest was organised in the hope it may assist in encouraging more state civil servants to wear traditional attires to work every Thursday.
According to her, creatively designed traditional attires were more practical since to wear the traditional attire with all its accessories was too cumbersome and not suitable to be worn to office.
In this respect, Juliana said the contest aimed at finding the best creative traditional attire design that foregoes the heavy accessories yet maintaining the original traditional motive.
“Therefore, we are organising this contest to find a creatively designed traditional costume that state public sector members could consider wearing every Thursday to work,” she said.
Juliana said the movement felt it was incumbent upon them to make the move since the proposal for the state civil service to wear traditional attires every Thursday came from Upko itself.
She said the party had passed a resolution on the proposal during its triennial general meeting last year, which was then raised by party president Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau to the Chief Minister in the state cabinet meeting and then given the nod, which was introduced last month.
Juliana said the contest was divided into two categories namely Category A for creative traditional wedding (bride and groom) attire and Category B for the creative traditional office attire or both.
She said entries in both categories must be designed for both female and male.
“It must be a totally new design that has never been entered in any other contest,” she said.
According to her, the winners of both categories stand to win RM3,500 cash prize plus a trophy and certificate while the second and third prize winners would take home RM2,500 and RM1,500 respectively.
Those in fourth to ninth places would receive RM300 cash while those from 10th to 15th places would receive RM200.
Closing date to submit entries is on July 29.
Those with further inquiries including obtaining the entry form could contact Obert at 0133878003 or Gloria at 0138181235.