MP: Kaamatan Festival platform to forge unity
Published on: Monday, May 27, 2024
Armizan (4th frpm left) at the Kg Biau Kaamatan Festival celebration.
PAPAR: The community needs to make the Kaamatan Festival celebration as a platform to observe the diversity of backgrounds and ideologies.
Papar Member of Parliament Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali said the value and meaning of the annual celebration which was originally only celebrated by the Kadazandusun, Murut and Rungus (KDMR) tribes should be observed in a broader and realistic aspect.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The Kaamatan festival is a festival of KDMR tribes for a long time, but it brings two important things. Firstly, to respect the spirit of paddy. Paddy is a reflection of all kinds of food.
“Secondly, gratitude to God for giving us sustenance, the two values and meaning of the Kaamatan Festival.
“But the value and meaning of Kaamatan have evolved. It used to be celebrated only by the KDMR community but now it is celebrated by communities of various races not only in Kaiduan, in Penampang or in Sabah but its evolution is celebrated in the peninsula and even in London.
“This is because the Kaamatan Festival is a platform for community unity, a platform for us to see common ground among those who love unity.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We put aside any differences in background, ideology and so on because we all want unity, peace and development,” he said.
According to Armizan, the Kaamatan Festival, which is synonymous with the spirit of sacrifice and struggle, should be translated to develop the village, state and country in line with the development agenda of Madani Malaysia and the direction of Sabah Maju Jaya.
ADVERTISEMENT
“In Sabah, we also have the direction of Sabah Maju Jaya and it is not a newly created agenda to make Sabah more advanced and successful,” he said when officiating the Kampung Angkat Madani and the Kaamatan Festival celebration in Kg Biau near here.
Armizan, who is also the Minister of Domestic Trade and Living Costs (KPDN), said the selection of Kampung Kaiduan as the KPDN Kampung Angkat was based on set criteria and would receive an allocation of RM2.5 million which is expected to be able to change the physical and socioeconomic landscape of the village.
“The Kampung Angkat Madani programme was the idea by the Prime Minister which was announced during the presentation of the 2024 Budget where the federal government decided that each ministry at the federal level will adopt one village.
“This programme is implemented to plan together with the villagers programmes and infrastructure development in the local area with an allocation of RM100 million for implementation in 2024.
“Soon, there will be a town hall session with the villagers for us to hear recommendations, views and suggestions on what the residents need whether physical infrastructure or socioeconomic programmes.
“So, we hope that with the selection of this village that meets the conditions set by the Federal government, that is, the infrastructure is still below the 50 per cent rate, it can run smoothly and we will monitor its implementation,” he said.
Armizan also announced the construction of SK Kaiduan open hall.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
.jpg)
.jpg)
