IPOH, Sept 2 — The Sarong Festival, held in conjunction with the National Month celebrations and organised by Pertubuhan Seni Kayangan Perak (PESKAP) and Bagi Run Club, at Sultan Azlan Shah Roundabout here today was well received by Malaysians.
Bagi Run Club president Khairul Amnan Osman said more than 1,000 participants, many of them wearing outfits featuring various types of sarongs, joined in the activities, which aims to promote and educate Malaysians about the sarong and its history.
“About 400 adults and 30 children participated in the Sarong Run, a fun event meant to instill patriotism, with adults traversing six kilometres and children 800 metres.
“We also want to demonstrate that Malaysians today still appreciate cultural values and we can see everyone wearing traditional clothes, using sarongs during today’s festival.
“The winner of the Sarong Run took home RM500, the runner-up RM300, and the second runner-up RM200 while the winner of Sukan Rakyat Sarong received RM1,000, the runner-up RM700, and second runner-up RM500. We even had cash prizes of RM100 for six participants who were ‘the most sporting” in the Senam Seni event,” he said when met today.
Khairul Amnan said the festival was held with the cooperation of Perak Tourism, the Perak Culture and Arts Department, Temasya Budaya@Negeri Perak, Dedaun Rimba, and More Manjat.
“This is the second time it has been organised, and it is on a larger scale compared to the first time when we did it among our community.
“We hope to hold it again in the future because it can help promote the Malaysian sarong as one of the unique cultural elements in this country, particularly in Perak,” he added.
