KUCHING: A total of 21 teams from China, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia will be competing in the 4th Plaza Merdeka (International) Lion Dance Competition 2019 at Plaza Merdeka Shopping Mall.
The lion dance competition began with the Traditional Category on Jan 5 (yesterday), and the highlight, High Pole Category, which is the first International Competition in the whole of Sarawak, on Jan 6 (today).
Tourism, Arts and Culture Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin lauded the shopping mall for taking their own initiative in conducting events which promotes the state’s multi-racial identity.
“This kind of event is promoting sports tourism in Sarawak as we will also welcome a few other yearly sports events such as the Kuching Marathon, Regatta and more.
“The competition, fully supported and endorsed by the state Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports, is aimed at promoting and uplifting the standards of lion dance in Sarawak,” he said during the welcoming dinner at The Waterfront Hotel here on Friday.
He added that the competition was also a way of cultural exchange as participants learn from each other to improve themselves.
“Apart from learning the skills, it will also help one another to learn the cultures and the ways lion dance is performed in China, Singapore, and Vietnam.
“Lion dance is also an interesting event as it can be a cultural event which attracts spectators from all over the world and has become very popular,” he said.
He added that lion dance deserves to be promoted not only for tourism but also for youth programmes.
Meanwhile, Plaza Merdeka Holdings Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk Steve Ng said that as one of the mall operators, they were proud to be one of the game changers in this competition, especially as the pioneer in this kind of event.
“With the size of the event that is growing bigger, it is such a big hope for us to include this as one of Sarawak’s annual events and we hope to welcome more international troupes in the future,” he said.
For the Traditional Category, the champion will receive RM2,000 while the first and second runner-ups will receive RM1,500 and RM1,000 respectively.
For the High Pole Category, the champion will receive RM5,000 while the first and second runner-ups will receive RM4,000 and RM3,000 respectively.
Elite awards and consolation prizes will also be awarded to the remaining participants.
The competition begins at 10am and there is no admission fee.
Members of the public are encouraged to watch the lion dance competition happening at their Main Atrium, Ground Floor from Jan 4 to 6.
For more updates on Plaza Merdeka, visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Love.Plaza.M or contact Customer Service at 082-239408.
