By Siskoh R
SRI AMAN: The “Seyok Gudi Sri Aman Competition 2019” held recently was a serious effort in promoting the kite game – “gudi” is local term for kite – by the Youth, Culture and Sports Divisional Office of Sri Aman in collaboration with the state Ministry of Tourism, Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports.
Held at the compound of the Sports Complex here, the programme was given full cooperation by Sri Aman Gudi Club and attracted 50 participants from all over Sarawak. Most interestingly, there were three entries from Pontianak, Indonesia.
An official of the Sri Aman Youth, Culture and Sports Divisional Office Awang Mazelan Awang Majit, said the first edition of the programme was themed “Mulaika Pengingat” was intended as a means of promoting the traditional game.
“Once upon a time, this traditional game of kites was a fun and joyful activity for children around their homes and field that did not require lot of expenses.
“They easily made friends while enjoying the outdoor game but it is no longer the case for children nowadays who spend most of their free times on telecommunication gadgets, thereby forgetting about traditional games of the past,” said Awang Mazelan when officiating at the recent closing ceremony of Seyok Gudi Sri Aman 2019 Competition.
It is sad that many of these traditional games are getting forgotten. The recent kite contest was one of the initiatives to preserve the game, he said, adding it was a part of the local culture heritage.
“Traditional games are no longer an option, especially to the younger generation after being exposed to the speed of technology with various virtual game applications that seem to have changed the whole way of life in society.
“In the past, children spent their evenings with various types of games that needed physical movement and tested the minds; now they spend more time in front of computers to play video games.
“Gudi is the original game of the children of the villages around the 1970s until the 1980s and was so popular at one point but now, the game is somewhat marginalised and rarely played,” he said.
Thus, he said, the contest was an initiative to revive the interesting outdoor game.
Meanwhile, Sri Aman district officer Mohd Asree Wee said the move to restore the brilliance of traditional games was a proactive step and he hoped that in the coming years more state government agencies and NGOs would work together to organise such activity.
Earlier, he presented prizes to winners of the Seyok Gudi competition which was also contested in various categories.
In addition, various other events were held at the Indoor Stadium of Sri Aman Sports Complex, such as flower arrangements and cooking competitions as well as fitness exercises.
Also present were chairman of the organising committee who is also chairman of Sri Aman Gudi Club, Alex Nyakal and other committee members.
