| Ina Matzin |
SOME 27 members of the Malay Kedayan Association (PEMEDAYAN) visited Sipitang and Papar in Sabah and Lawas in Sarawak during a three-day trip recently.
Haji Zainal Abidin bin Tinggal, the President of PEMEDAYAN, led the association during the trip.
Their first stop was the ethnic Kedayan Radio Station which is broadcast on the Internet. Despite operating for three years, it already has one million regular listeners from Australia to Austria in Europe.
Radio KadayanFM is netcast live from a modest shack from 8pm to midnight during weekdays and until 2am during weekends. Several PEMEDAYAN members were interviewed at the station.
The PEMEDAYAN delegation then visited Kampong Palakat in Sipitang where they performed Maghrib prayer at the Palakat Mosque, during which they presented a donation for the mosque’s expansion project.
On the second day of their trip, they visited a local business house owned by Norsiah Marjan in Papar which produces traditional kuehs. Their products have been exported to Brunei and Sarawak.
The PEMEDAYAN delegation next visited As-Sakinah’s Orphan’s House which houses some 27 orphans and run almost voluntarily, surviving on donations and public support.
With the increase in the number of orphans, the institution is planning on purchasing or building a purpose-built orphanage. The PEMEDAYAN delegation handed over donations, both financial and in the form of clothing and stationery, to the orphanage.
The visitors were then hosted to an official dinner by the Sabah Kadayan Association (PAADIAN) Papar Zone with Dato Dr Haji Yusof bin Haji Yacob, the President of PAADIAN, in attendance. At the dinner, the visitors presented a donation to Radio KadayanFM.
On the final day of their visit, they visited Lawas where they toured traditional Junjung Padi or ‘Paddy Houses’ and hosted to a lunch by Kampong Balipat.
They were also treated to local cultural presentations as well as cooking demonstrations on two Kedayan traditional kuehs. The villagers also displayed several traditional Kedayan artifacts.
PEMEDAYAN’s last stop was the mausoleum of members of the royal family at Pulau Sari in Lawas, where royal tombs are located on top of a hill on the island. The visitors offered prayers for late members of the royal family there.
The visits aimed at strengthening relations and cooperations with Kedayans in Sabah and Sarawak and were part of PEMEDAYAN’s programme for 2018. A spokesperson for the association said they have received an invitation to visit the Kedayan community in Kuching, Sarawak.
PEMEDAYAN, registered in 2014, has over 140 members.
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