Friday, July 18, 2008

Temple Festival listed on Sarawak tourism calendar


SIBU: Minister of Urban Development and Tourism Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh said the unique Tua Pek Kong Festival that is found only in Sarawak has been included in the state’s tourism calendar starting next year.

The festival, the largest in South East Asia, has been fixed by the temple committees in Sarawak on the 29th day of the third month in the lunar calendar to coincide with the deity’s birthday, beginning this year.

The celebration this year fell on May 4.

With the joint decision, the 58 temples throughout the state will burst into celebrative colours annually on that day.

Wong, who is also Second Minister of Finance said in an interview on Wednesday that the festival was the second event listed on the tourism calendar for Sibu after the Borneo Cultural Festival. He said this was an effort of his ministry to attract tourists who were very much attracted by the unique cultures of Borneo.

He said in the first four months of this year, there had been an increase (29 per cent) in tourist arrival to the state compared to the same period last year.

“There has been a marked increase in the number of tourists from West Malaysia, and we shall commit ourselves to attract even more tourists to witness all the events lined up for them.”

Continue reading at: Temple Festival listed on Sarawak tourism calendar

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