SIBU: The Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) held this year has received accolades for its cleanliness and record-breaking attendance, surpassing all previous editions, according to Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) chairman Clarence Ting Ing Horh.
During the SMC full council meeting, Ting revealed that two visiting professors, one from Germany and the other from Namibia, were impressed with the festival’s cleanliness. He commended the people of Sibu for their habit of maintaining a clean environment.
The professors were in Sibu to inspect the town square in preparation for hosting the 2024 Participatory Design Conference (PDC), a biennial event that is expected to attract approximately 250 delegates from 30 countries. The PDC explores the role of people in the development of products and new technologies.
Ting expressed pride in the collective efforts to ensure the success of the BCF. “We all worked as one organisation. The United Chinese Association worked very hard this year by organising a lot of events. So too, the Malay-Melanau and Dayak.”
Notably, the Dayak group’s Kumang contest attracted over 10,000 people. “The contest featured participants from outside Sibu such as Julau so a lot of people came to support their contestant.”
While an exact visitor count was not available due to the absence of turnstiles, it was evident that this year’s BCF saw the largest crowd in its history, as attested by many attendees.
Considering Sibu’s central location, Ting stressed the significance of involving participants from various places in the region to maximise the festival’s potential.
He announced that next year’s BCF is scheduled for mid-August, following the PDC event.
