Preserve culture to maintain unity : CM
BEAUFORT:
History has proven that any race that practised and preserved their own culture could maintain unity among themselves. Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Haji Aman pointed this out when launching the Kaamatan Festival 2008 at Dewan Pa’ Musa here yesterday. “Therefore, all Sabahans should practise their own culture so that we are able to keep the peaceful and harmonious lifestyle, and able to build a better future,” he said. According to Musa, Sabahans should be thankful as they are still able to hold various cultural events. “We should use the opportunity to promote and preserve our cultures that have been inherited from our ancestors,” he said. The Chief Minister added the people from the various ethnic groups in the State should be given the opportunity to contribute and directly involve to ensure the success of any event or festival. “The Government intends to give all the districts in Sabah a chance to host the State- level Kaamatan Festival so that they can expose their tourism potentials. “It is in line with the Sabah Development Corridor which is to focus the effort to turn the State into, an interesting and appealing tourism destination. I believe that such effort can attract more foreign tourists to come to Sabah,” he said. Musa added he feels proud the cultural identities of the State were being emphasised in this year’s celebration which were shown by people wearing their own traditional costumes. “Therefore, to choose Beaufort as the host for this year’s celebration is very symbolic to the chosen theme which is ‘Peace Through Culture’, as the people come from different background and culture and live in peace and harmony,” he said. Meanwhile, the Organising Chairman of the event, Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan, urged all Sabahans to bequeath their skills and heritage from their ancestors to their children so the invaluable experiences and knowledge will not disappear. Pairin, who is also the Deputy Chief Minister, said that it is a loss to the future generations if the skills that they inherited such as the ‘puisi sundait’ and ‘tangontangon’ disappeared. “I am thankful to the State Government for making the Kaamatan Festival one of the important celebrations in this country,” he added. During the launching of the celebration, guests were entertained by traditional performances by the Sabah Cultural Board, Unduk Ngadau and (Sugandoi competitions and Hominodun show.
