Group of 98 boards flight in traditional costumes
Published on: Saturday, May 20, 2023
Peter and some of the participants perform on the tarmac before boarding the flight.
KUCHING: Gabungan Orang Asal Sarawak/Sabah (Goass) has made another amazing feat after last year’s “flying-in-sirat” (traditional loincloth) from Sarawak to here.
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On Thursday, 98 Goass members, led by Peter John Jaban, who were clad in traditional costumes, boarded a flight from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur, to attend the Borneo Native Festival (BNF) over the weekend.
Peter said the visit aims to raise awareness of Bornean indigenous heritage and the place of the community in modern Malaysian society.
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“Wearing the traditional costumes of different ethnic groups in Sarawak and Sabah is a way to tell the world the indigenous people of Borneo are still in existence,” he said.
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For this visit, he said participants had bought airline tickets at their own expense, many as early as March, to avoid price hikes.
The group will also participate in a traditional cultural parade from Dataran Merdeka to Pasar Seni (Central Market), where the BNF is held.
The BNF, organised by Sukaseni, showcases dozens of vendors from Sabah and Sarawak promoting handicrafts, food, and beverages at the Central Market on May 20-22.
Peter said last year’s programme involving a group of 60 wearing “sirat” on a plane was successful.
“The cold air on board did not weaken the spirit of the participants, who travelled from Kuching and Miri to Kota Kinabalu, in April last year,” he said.
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