BINTULU: Organising the Apau Koyan Festival is the best way to highlight the culture as well as arts and customs of the Orang Ulu community in the Sungai Asap and Belaga sub-districts.
Murum assemblyman Kennedy Chuk Pai Ugon said the people in the area should be proud for having the opportunity to participate in the festival and witness the uniqueness of their culture that may not be found elsewhere.
Recalling the history of the Apau Koyan Festival, he said this festival was first introduced in 2013 and was known as the Bakun Festival, the Smoke Festival (2015), the Apau Koyan Festival and the Bakun Fest (2017) and the Apau Koyan Festival in 2019 in accordance with the wishes and approval of the community leaders and tribal chiefs to change the name of Sungai Asap to Apau Koyan.
He, however, said that 2022 is likely to be the last time the existing site is used for organising the Apau Koyan Festival following the construction of the Apau Koyan Heritage Centre at a cost of RM15 million which will start next year.
The construction of this heritage site has been the dream of all Orang Ulu people in the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme for a long time and now it has become a reality with the allocation approved by the Sarawak government,” he said when officiating at the 2022 Apau Koyan Festival at the Apau Koyan Festival site, Sungai Asap, Belaga on Thursday.
“Together we pray that this project will run smoothly in the future which will become one of the latest attractions in Apau Koyan and will be able to impact the economic and social development of the local community in line with the aspirations of the Post COVID-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030),” he said.
At the same time, Chukpai hoped that the Apau Koyan Festival would continue to be one of the platforms to integrate the Orang Ulu community in the Sungai Asap Resettlement Scheme and the entire Murum-Belaga area in particular in an effort to preserve the customs, culture and art of the Orang Ulu.
