KUCHING: A musical drama titled ‘Rentap: The Untold Story’ was played at the welcoming dinner for the delegates of the 8th Alliance for Healthy Cities Global Conference and General Assembly 2018 (AFHC 2018), held at Pullman Hotel here on Wednesday night.
Rentap, one of Sarawak’s great Iban War Chiefs of the 19th century, did not want James Brooke (who became the Rajah of Sarawak on 25 September, 1841) or any other foreigner, to rule Sarawak and his people.
He fought fiercely and fearlessly for a long time against Brooke’s men. His struggles won the respect of his enemies and forced the Brooke Regime to allow the Ibans to live their own way of life without much interference.
‘Rentap’ – which means ‘one who makes the world shake’ in Iban – was born around the year 1800 and lived most of his life in the Ulu Skrang and Saribas river areas in Sri Aman.
His first name was Libau and he took the name Rentap only after he had taken his first human head in battle. During the early parts of his life, he joined sea raiding expeditions with Iban leader, Orang Kaya Pemanca Dana Bayang of Saribas.
Rentap led many successful sea expeditions and a result, he became known among his people as a fearless warrior. Although he had been branded as a great rebel leader by the Brooke Regime, he was actually a freedom fighter and nationalist who fought against the intruders.
The 20-minute musical drama was presented by the Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV), which also included video presentations on ‘Sarawak Diversity’ and ‘Where Adventure Lives’.
The dinner also featured performances by dancers from the Sarawak Culture and Arts Department, the Bamboo Band Group and local singer Bob Yusof. The finale of the dinner was a ‘bermukun’ performance. The dinner was attended by Minister of Local Government and Housing, Datuk Professor Dr Sim Kui Hian representing the Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi (Dr) Abang Johari Tun Datuk Abang Openg.
Also among those present were State Secretary and Chairman of the main organising committee of the 8th AFHC, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani and state Cabinet ministers.
Professor Dr Keiko Nakamura, Head of the Secretariat of the Alliance for Healthy Cities, in her speech expressed appreciation towards the Healthy City Kuching and the state government for hosting the conference.
