KOTA KINABALU: The songs ‘Senyuman Sabahan’ and ‘Bujang Sarawak,’ performed alongside traditional dances, captivated the audience at the national-level 2024 Malaysia Day celebration last night.
The graceful movements of Sabah’s ethnic dances such as Sumazau, Sazau, Limbai, and Igal, as well as Sarawak’s ethnic dances like Ngajat and Menyak, received a rousing applause from the audience. Some even joined in the dance moves, accompanied by the songs well-known among Malaysians.
Wahyudi Saiem, an instructor at the Sabah Cultural Board, said the idea to combine all these traditional dances was the result of discussions between the instructors and dancers, aiming to create a performance that was simple yet rich in its message of unity.
He said the performance featured 150 dancers through a collaboration among the Sabah Cultural Board, the Sabah National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and cultural associations from schools around Kota Kinabalu.
“We performed in two segments: ‘Sambut Tamu’ and ‘Keluarga Madani.’ Our dancers tonight range from as young as 10 years old to those in the upper age group. It was not easy to coordinate the dancers, but we managed to pull it off.
“Of course, the other instructors and I are very proud of our students. The training period was quite short, only 10 days, and then we tried out in rehearsals. I am very happy, it was full of energy,” he told Bernama.
Norzellah Jaafar, 32, a dancer, said she participated in the Malaysia Day dance performance because she wanted to share Sabah and Sarawak’s culture and traditions with people across the country, embodying the saying, ‘Tak kenal maka tak cinta’ (You can’t love what you don’t know).
“I’m thrilled to be part of this event; it was tiring, but I didn’t feel it that much because we were doing it together with friends, striving to make it the best. Thank you for giving me this opportunity,” said Norzellah, who is self-employed.
Another dancer, Mary Salleh, 45, said she initially heard about the performance from a friend and decided to join because she didn’t want to miss out on enlivening the celebration.
“The training sessions were intense since we only had 10 days, but we are very proud of the results. It was fun to dance together with friends and showcase our cultural arts to all Malaysians,” said the marketing officer. – BERNAMA
