1) You’ve mentioned that you would like to be the 

Ratu Pesta Menuai to
bring awareness to the masses about Harvest Festival in Sarawak. Have
this been a dream of yours since you were a child or is it something
recent?

Oh well, to be honest this has been a dream of mine since I reach adulthood
where I get to know more or I can say deeper about my cultural and harvest
festival of course. I really want the people out there to see the uniqueness in us,
Borneon (You know what I mean). So, I really hope that there will be more
thing that we can do in the future to let the masses know more about us and
harvest festival in Malaysia.

2) Why do you think that it’s important to preserve the festivity that has
been passed down for generation? And from your observations, how is
the youth’s reaction towards the Harvest Festival?

As we all know, Harvest Festival is an annual month-long celebration being

held in Malaysia every May. It is also known as Gawai Dayak in Sarawak and
Pesta Kaamatan in Sabah. The festival has deep cultural roots with pagan
origins and is considered one of the country’s grandest celebrations. It is now
known to be a must-go event that tourists will really be exposed to the rich
culture in Malaysia. 
As for me, the reason why the harvest festival need to be preserved is because
it is a symbol of unity for all the communities in Borneo. The new generation
should keep the unique look of borneo people and never ever stop celebrating
Harvest Festival every year. The youth in Sabah and Sarawak really really love
it. Not only the young people, it includes everyone especially those who
celebrate the harvest festival and get excited everytime it is nearly the end of
May.
 3) What are some of the differences that you can see between East
Malaysian and West Malaysian?

East Malaysia or also known as “Insular Malaysia” consists of two States,

which is Sabah and Sarawak.  Both are situated on the island of Borneo.
The capital cities of Kota Kinabalu and Kuching are very tourism-friendly.
It is populated by people descended from many indiginous tribes who
retain a strong cultural identity. Some Sarawakians of Iban descent still
reside in rural longhouses. Their Bahasa Malaysia is different from the
West (or should I consider that a dialect?)

While West Malaysia, or “Peninsular Malaysia” on the other hand is more

highly developed. The cities and towns of Peninsular Malaysia are mostly
situated close to the sea or primary waterways. The west Malaysia are
inhabited by majority Malays, Chinese, Indians and smaller minorities
such as sikh & siamese.

Generally both Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak are multicultural,

multiracial and multireligious society. Some may still be pagan and a
small number may be atheist.

4) Do you have any suggestions as to how the state government can step
up in promoting the cultural aspect of Borneo?

Well, there’s a lot that can be promoted in Borneo such as traditional dances,
games and instruments, the costumes of various ethnics, and so on. The state
Government have to be committed and double its efforts to promote the rich
and unique culture of Borneo. The people especially those in Borneo should
give continuous support to the government’s efforts by getting involved in
various cultural programmes. So, the efforts should be indeed be stepped up,
whether at the domestic or the international level.

5) If you were to promote Sarawak in a sentence, what would you say?

Okay, if I were to promote Sarawak in one sentence, I would say, once you
arrive at Sarawak as a guest, you will leave Sarawak as family.