MUKAH: More than 600 family members of Dayang Marikan Bt Awang Mantarip were present at the family reunion held at Kingwood Resort Mukah here last Tuesday night.
The family reunion was the second to be staged here. The first was held in July 2015.
The guests of honour at the auspicious occasion were Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman), Datuk Haji Talib Zulpilip and wife.
Also present were Balingian Assemblyman, Abdul Yakub Haji Arbi, Jemoreng Assemblyman, Datuk Dr Juanda Jaya, Political Secretary to the Chief Minister, Faridah Osman and Organising Chairman, ASP (rtd) Jamil Haji Othman.
In his speech at the function Talib hoped that the present and future generations would continue to hold the family reunion.
“In fact there is a greeting from one of our members who resides in London. To me this indicates that the family members of Dayang Marikan are not only in Sarawak, Sabah and Brunei Darussalam but also other parts of the world. So it is very important for us to continue to keep in touch with one other from time to time,” he said.
Talib also pointed out that there has been much improvement in road networks in the state which has enabled many people to move easily from one place to another.
“In the past if we wanted to go to Mukah we have to go to Sibu first but now with the completion of the bridge we can go to Mukah directly from Tatau,” Talib said.
Yakub who also spoke revealed that late Dayang Marikan whose father was Awang Mantarip B Datuk Tunjang lived at Kampung Judan, Mukah.
“After her father died, she moved to Kuala Balingian, where she met and married a ship captain, Awang Salleh or Masaleh B Hashim who hailed from Labuan and they have a son named Taha.
“However, the couple separated for an undisclosed reason, which caused Marikan to marry another man.
“She married another boat skipper named Awang Musafar b Nasarudin from Brunei Darussalam and they were blessed with three children, Siti Jijah or Tijah, Dayang Kulan or Kulau and Sarbanun.
“When her husband died due to sickness, her late husband’s family asked Marikan to marry Awang Mohd Baki b Nasarudin, her late husband’s younger brother, who was also a boat skipper.
“They have seven children namely Haji Drahman, Siti Rahmat, Abdul Razak, Osman, Omar, Bunian and Umai Salamah.
“So from the three marriages Marikan has a total of 11 children,” added Yakub.
Jamil, in his welcoming speech, thanked those involved in making the reunion a very successful one and was overwhelmed with the response from members of the Marikan family from Mukah and elsewhere.
The family reunion is always held on the third day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Among the activities held were presentation of ‘duit raya’ to the children present, cake-cutting and stage performances.
